Key to My Heart
by MoodyMoony241
Summary: James Potter, of all people, is the key to Lily Evans' heart. The problem is, she doesn't know it. Will she be able to figure it out, or will she need help from one of our favorite Marauders? Rated T for mild language.
1. Stuck in the Loo

**Hi. Yet another fluffy James-Lily fanfic. Anything you haven't read about in the Harry Potter series is mine….or my friend's. She helped, so I can't take credit for **_**all **_**of the original stuff you see in this chapter, but everything that's not ours is obviously going to be J.K. Rowling's.**

"Lily!" Ugh, it was Potter. I started to run.

"AHHHHHH!!!!!!"

"Lily! Lily! Wait!"

"Never!" Unfortunately for me, James' legs were longer than mine, and he quickly caught up to me. He passed me and stopped right in front of me. I rolled my eyes; he had that smirk on his face. "What is it, Potter?"

"My Lilyflower! Why were you running?"

"Running? Who was running? I wasn't running."

"Yes, you were. Anyway, I wanted to ask you something."

"For the 7,856th time, I will not go out with you, Potter."

"That wasn't what I was going to ask you. And for your information, it would have been the 100,876,514th time." I rolled my eyes yet again.

"Then what _were_ you going to ask me?"

"Go out with me, Evans?" I scowled and turned to leave. "It was a joke, Evans. Calm down. Honestly, you have no sense of humor, do you?"

"What is it, Potter?"

"Sirius pushed Peter into the girl's toilet. Peter was actually stupid enough to try and use one of the stalls and- and- he kind of… got stuck."

"I don't believe you; you'll probably just corner me in there."

"No! I'm telling the truth! Moony can prove it."

"What do you want me to prove?" I turned and screamed.

"Where'd you come from, Remus?" Remus opened his mouth to respond.

"Wait! Why do you call Moony by his first name?"

"Remus doesn't annoy me, Potter."

"Oh, come on!" Remus rolled his eyes at Potter.

"What exactly did you need me for, Prongs?"

"Oh, right! Tell my Lilyflower that Wormtail got stuck in the girl's toilet."

"_Your Lilyflower_!? 1: I am not yours; I am not anyone's. 2: Do _not_ call me Lilyflower!!!" He flinched. Excellent.

"Sorry, my dearest." I glared at him and he shut up.

"Remus, is Pettigrew actually stuck in the toilet?"

"Yes. Sirius pushed him in and somehow, he got himself stuck in between the stall and the door." Wonderful. Now I had to go get Pettigrew out of the toilet. At least I could punish Black. I loved being a prefect.

"I'll go get him out." I turned and started walking. "Which toilet?" I paused and looked back. Potter's eyes shifted back and forth.

"Moaning Myrtle's bathroom." My scowl deepened. Bollocks.

"That's just lovely. More fun for me." I turned and headed towards the stairs.

"Lily! Don't go!" I ignored Potter's inane behavior. Merlin, he was annoying! I heard him chasing me again. I rolled my eyes and walked faster.

"No you don't. You can't go into Myrtle's bathroom by yourself."

"Pettigrew's in there alone."

"But you're more important." I rolled my eyes.

"If you were smart, you'd shut your ugly face right now."

"I'm not ugly! I'm the number one bachelor in the school!"

"Oh, don't flatter yourself, Potter. Hey, Lily." I turned at the voice. It was Severus Snape.

"Go away, you useless ball of slime." Potter said, badgering the boy as always.

"Shut your ugly face, Potter!" Snape shot back. I turned and started walking away without a word to either of them. I couldn't forgive Severus for what he had said last year. He's a half-blood. He can't call anyone a 'Mudblood'.

"Lily, wait!" they said together. I kept walking, but Potter was the only one who ran to catch up.

"I know you're a girl and just dying to see the inside of a girl's toilet, but I don't need your help, Potter."

"You should've seen Snivellus' face when you ignored him. It was like some twisted kind of upset expression." He snorted.

"Oh, so you're a pig now, are you?" I purposely changed the subject, not wanting to even think about the end of fifth year.

"Hey!"

"Get lost, Potter."

"Fine. But only if you go out with me." I turned and kneed him in the groin. He fell to the ground, groaning. "Why, Lilyflower, why?"

"It seems that's the only way to get rid of you without putting myself through extreme misery. Instead, it puts you in extreme misery. And_that_ is an added bonus." I headed towards the bathroom once more. Fortunately, without company this time. I opened the door and walked in. Water covered the floor. It appeared that Moaning Myrtle did _not_ want Pettigrew in the bathroom.

"Oi, Pettigrew! Where are you?"

"Over here!" I headed toward his voice and immediately came upon a much squished Peter Pettigrew in between the door and the edge of the stall.

"I'll pull on the door; you try and get yourself out of there. Ready? On the count of three. 1…2…3!" We tried as hard as we could, but the door wouldn't budge. Maybe Moaning Myrtle could fix it…yeah…

"Myrtle?" I called sweetly.

"What do you want? I've been here for hours all alone with that horrid little boy. The one time someone actually comes in, they start complaining about being stuck in here. As if I don't know what it feels like. It's horrible."

"I'm very sorry, Myrtle. Do you think you could help me get him out of here? Then he won't be able to hurt your feelings anymore."

"Oh, that. Of course I can." She wriggled her hand in between him and the door, lubricating it with her ghostly essence. The door shifted open a little so Pettigrew could breathe.

"Thank you so much, Myrtle." Finally, I could get out of here.

"It was nothing," said Myrtle, while Peter pushed the door open the rest of the way.

"Thanks Myrtle."

"Ew! The creepy boy is talking to me! Aaahhhhh!" And she dived into a toilet, spraying water everywhere.

"Come on, Peter, let's go." We went our separate ways: Pettigrew to the kitchens, most likely, and I went up to the Prefect common room.

**So, what did you guys think? Please review. When you do, I'll update. :) Hopefully you'll review anyway, without my encouragement cough cough **_**bribery**_** cough, but anyway……**


	2. Tutoring

**Hey, thank you to all of my reviewers. I honestly didn't think that so many people would review the first chapter of a new story from a new author. Thank you a million times again. I hope you like this one as much as the last:)**

"LILYKINS!!!" was what I was met with when I entered the portrait hole to the Prefect common room._ How??_ I thought to myself, _HOW__??? How in the world was Potter able to get into the Prefects room??_ And that's when I saw Remus' sheepish face.

"REMUS!!!!!!!!"

"He... He-he... followed me!"

"HOW COULD YOU???????" Potter sniggered.

"And YOU!!" I pointed a finger at him.  
"Eep!" he ducked behind Remus.

"GET THE BLOODY HELL OUT!" I roared.  
"B-But Lilykins!" he sputtered.

"OUT!!!!!" He scampered through the door. I sighed. Where could I go to relax? The Prefect's bathroom, that's right.  
"Remus?"  
"Yes?" He seemed uncomfortable.  
"Potter doesn't know how to get into the Prefect's bathroom, does he?"  
"I don't think so."   
"Good. Make sure he doesn't. We should probably change this password at the next meeting, too... Anyway, bye!"  
"Bye." I heard him murmur as I walked out the door.

After a nice, soothing bubble bath, I dragged myself to the Gryffindor common room to do some patrolling and to finish a few essays. And more importantly, to punish Black for making me deal with Moaning Myrtle. I gave the Fat Lady the password and stepped through. The room was filled with students and there was a definite buzz of talking all around. It was quite peaceful and normal until...  
"Lilykins! You're back! I missed you so much!" Potter ran across the room and swept me up into a big hug.  
"Potter, if you ever want to have kids you will let go of me right now!"  
"Sorry!" he said, and he released me, taking a few steps back for safety.  
"If you have any sense, you will _never_ do that again."  
"Yes, Lilykins." Black sniggered from behind Potter.  
"What's so funny, Black?" I glared at him.

"Nothing, nothing, nothing at all!" I give excellent glares, if you hadn't noticed.  
"No, it's not funny. Because I had to help Pettigrew get out of the girl's bathroom. What were you thinking?! You broke about five rules!"

"But-but-!"

"The only butt I want is yours in detention with Mr. Filch, cleaning up the water. 15 points from Gryffindor!" I went to the other side of the room to work on my homework. I looked out for any rule-breaking on the way there. Fortunately, there wasn't: an easy night for me and I didn't have to look any more like a prude. Dinner would be soon and I needed to finish my Arithmancy essay before Monday. I managed to finish it before I went down to the Great Hall. My happiness was short-lived. I was only three feet through the doors when I heard my name. Or rather, a butchering of my name.  
"Lilyflower! You're here at last. Oh I have missed you so!" I tried not to turn the color of my hair and started walking to the other end of the table. I sat down and was about to take a bite of lasagna when I heard Potter's voice behind me. "How come you didn't answer?"  
"I didn't hear a question, Potter. Now get lost!"  
"But I have to ask you something."  
"I'm not going to go out with you, Potter."  
"It's not that..." He sounded shy and his head looked a little less inflated than all the screaming girls usually made it.  
"Then spit it out!" My patience was wearing.  
"I need...I need a tutor."  
"Couldn't you just get remedial help from the teachers? Or Remus?"

"No. All the teachers hate me, and Remus is too busy overachieving…and reading.""I'm not going to help you; I'm busy with Prefect duties and my own homework. You could try paying attention in class for a change." He blushed.  
"I've already missed so much."

"Hadn't thought of that. I guess I could." I sighed. What choice did I have? He was actually acting mature for a change. _Wait, Lily! What are you thinking? Of course you can say no! Besides, not paying attention in class is plenty immature!_  
"Yes!" He brightened considerably. I could have sworn I saw his head gain a few inches around the middle. What had I just done? He would probably just try to get me to go out with him….again…..and again….and- oh you get the point.  
"I'll see you later tonight in the common room, my darling Lilyflower."  
"I can't." His face fell.  
"Why not?" I rolled my eyes at his perpetual stupidity.  
"I have a Prefect meeting. The Heads need help organizing the Christmas Dance." I saw a glint in his eye at the mention of the dance. "Don't even think for a minute that I'll say yes! I'll see you tomorrow night in the common room. Now scat!" He turned beet red and went down to where the Marauders were sitting. I saw Black smirking and rolled my eyes again. I sat down with a sigh and a scowl at my friends' smirks.  
"What?!" I yelled at them. They all looked away and came up with a completely unrelated subject. I loved my friends. At least when they weren't trying to get me to go out with Potter. Or teasing me about him asking me out all the time. Otherwise, they were the best ever.

"Lilyflower!" I heard Potter whisper behind me and his warm, soothing breath on my neck. _Lily! Snap out of it! This is Potter we're talking about! The insensitive, bigheaded toerag, remember?! _I turned around, glaring at him.  
"Three steps back right now Potter, or I'll knee you in the groin again!" surprisingly, he listened.  
"I was just going to remind you of our tutoring session today." I frowned. "Remember, yesterday night, dinner, in the Great Hall, you told me to scat…" He scuffed his foot on the ground and looked up at me through his incredibly long eyelashes. _Wow, he's really cute. I'd never noticed that before. Agh! Lily! Stop it!_ I nodded.  
"Sit down and let's get to work. Now, what do you need help with?" I asked after he had situated himself across from me in a nice, fluffy armchair by the fire.  
"Everything but Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Figures. So, Potions first." I went off, flipping through my notes and talking about all the different potions we had made so far and the common mistakes people made. I stopped halfway through.

"Potter? Potter! Did you hear anything I just said?" He nodded, mentally reviewing something.

"So, how do people mess up the Befuddlement Drought? It seems pretty straightforward to me."  
"Sometimes they confuse the Scurvy-grass with regular grass. Idiots." I couldn't help but scoff.  
"Ah... well, I'm sure I can tell the difference. Please, continue." I did, and eventually we were all finished with Potions material.

"Okay, that's all for Potions. Did you want to work on Ancient Runes another night?"

"Yeah."

"How about Tuesday night? I'm free then."  
"Nah, Tuesday's Quidditch practice. What about tomorrow?" I shook my head.  
"I can't. I said I'd meet Rick- I-I have too much homework. What about Wednesday?" He nodded, then appeared to realize what I had almost said.  
"You're going out with Richard O'Connell?! I'm going to kill that Ravenclaw scum!"  
"Potter! I'm not going out with him. And even if I was, you are not to hurt anyone I go out with!"  
"If you're not dating him, why are you meeting him?"

"We were assigned to work on entertainment for the dance together. He's a prefect, too, remember?"  
"Oh, right. Wait! Why aren't you working with Moony? He's in the same House. Shouldn't you be working with him? That's how it always worked." I blushed.  
"I thought we should mix it up a little. I suggested it and Sara thought it was a good idea. Habib Patil agreed. And what the Heads say, goes."  
"Why would you suggest- you like him, don't you? I'm so going to kill him!"  
"James Potter! You are not to lay a finger on him! If you do, I'll slap you silly, then personally cut your head off! Slowly and painfully, too. I'll make sure of it."   
"Okay, okay!" and he ran away. I sighed and picked up my things, heading up to my dormitory. Potter would probably find a way to spy on me and Rick on Monday, as well as ask me out a million times on Tuesday. Wednesday: Wednesday would be a long day.

**Hope you liked it! Please review. And once again, if you review, I will update faster! **


	3. Lily's Subconcious Tries to Take Over

**Hey, are you ready for another installment of this story? Of course you are! And since I'm obviously not a famous British author, anything you recognize is not mine. But everything ****that is UNrecognizeable IS. This goes for the last chapter as well. **

I peeked over my shoulder again. _Wait why am I doing that?? I don't want Potter to spy on me!_ It was Wednesday and I was in the library with- guess who- Rick.

"Lily? LILY!!!!"

"Huh? Wha...?"

"Dance discussion, remember?"

"Right, sorry."

"What's wrong with you? You've been totally out of it the whole day."

"What? Oh. Nothing, nothing really." I started to space out again...

"Lily..."

"Hmm..?"

"This isn't the real reason I agreed to pair up with you..."

I left the library in a daze. Rick had asked me out. And for some strange reason I said no. And then the answer came to me as I unwittingly stole a glance behind me. Potter. Why did he have to insinuate himself into my thoughts? WHY? What did I ever do to deserve this? Nothing. _No, I didn't do anything, I just like Potter. Wait. What am I saying to myself?_ Maybe some homework would keep my mind from working against me. I headed toward the prefect common room, but remembered that Rick would be there. I spun around and headed toward the Gryffindor common room. At least if Potter annoyed me I could climb upstairs and laugh while he fell down the slide over and over. And you know what? He _was_ annoying and I did just that. He put one foot on the step and his beautifully carved masculine body- _Lily! Stop it!_ Anyway, the stairs turned into a slide and he fell down it. Unfortunately, I was too stupid to step off the stairs and onto the landing at the top and I fell down too.  
"AAAAAAH!!! Oof!" I looked down into Potter's smirking face.  
"Finally decided to give into me, Evans?" I stood up, scowling at him.  
"Go take your big head elsewhere, Potter. It was an accident and you very well know it." His face fell. Ha! Just try and mess with me, World! He gathered himself and went to sulk in a corner with his friends. I went upstairs to do some homework to keep my mind off of how bad I felt that I laughed while his face was consumed with anger and frustration at the stairs and despair that he couldn't climb up to get me. _Lily! You are not allowed to feel sorry for that toe rag, remember? Oh_..._right_. So I got back to work when I was interrupted by Molly Reilly, a seventh year who was going out with Arthur Weasley. He was in Muggle Studies the class before mine.  
"Hey, Lily."  
"Hi, Molly. What's going on?"  
"Oh, I have a date with Arthur this weekend at Hogsmead and I just wondered if I could borrow something of yours to wear? Of course, I won't need to take it until Friday night."

"Yeah, sure. No problem. Just take a look through."  
"Thanks." That's when it hit me. Hogsmead was this weekend and I just turned down a date! What was wrong with me? Now the only person who would ask me out was Potter and there was no way I was going to agree, no matter how much those stunning hazel eyes begged, filled with the sadness of the threat of being denied what they yearned... _LILY!! Stop it now, and finish your Charms essay! Geez! Think about Potter some other time! NO!!!!!!!! Don't think about him at all! Ugh, just stop already! Fine, fine. I'll let you do your work_. So I did my work and went down for dinner. This proved to be a mistake because halfway through dessert, Potter came up to me.

"So, Lilykins. I hear you don't have a date for Hogsmead. What a coincidence: I don't either."

"Potter, you're pushing your luck."

"I know. Just thought I'd try again."

"Well, the answer is no. And you very well knew it before you said one word to me."

"Oh, fine. You can't give a man a chance, can you?"

"Not the one standing right in front of me, no."

"Well, I hear you didn't give that Ravenclaw a chance, either."

"Potter, back off or I'm not tutoring you."

"But I care about you more than my grades."

"And, you have 1…2…3….4…."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. But you know the invitation's still open." He grinned lopsidedly, his eyes shining. Of course they were no match for his smile- _Argh! Stop it, Brain!_

"Whatever. Get lost." It looked like I would be spending the day with Jeanne, since Alice and Theresa already had dates. I scowled at their raised eyebrows and taunting looks. Instead, I focused on the array of custards tastefully arranged in front of me.

Wednesday came sooner than it usually did. Wednesday also ended sooner than it usually did. I collapsed in the common room after supper before I realized that Potter would be coming by for his lesson.

"Lilyflower? What's wrong? You seem down."

"I'm fine, Potter. Just tired." He's looking cute today, with a light brown shirt to match his stunning eyes. _Wait, no! Why am I thinking this?! Potter never looks cute. No, he always looks hot. No! He's an ugly toe rag! Oh, right... heh heh._

"So what do you want to work on today?"

"What classes do you need the most help in?"

"None, actually. Remus kind of helped me on Monday."

"Then why are you even here, asking what I want to work on? I'm not going out with you."

"No, you're not. Not _yet_."

"Potter, I am NOT in the mood."

"Well, the answer to your question is self explanatory, so…. You look really tired, by the way. Want me to help you upstairs?"

"You can't climb up the stairs. You're a guy. And I'm not falling on top of you again."

"I've got a broom, remember? I'll fly you up."

"There is no way you are getting me to hang onto you all the way up to my dorm."

"Fine, you walk up the stairs yourself, then. In the mean time, will you allow me to help you up?"

"Not on your life." I pushed myself up. Or tied to anyway. "Actually, you can help me."

"My pleasure." I walked stiff-legged over to the staircase and started climbing. Potter ran away up to his dorm and- oh my god! He's sprinting towards me with a broom in his hand. A very nice broom, might I add. _Lily!!!! Fine, sorry._

"Potter! I told you I wouldn't do the broom thing!"

"I'm not asking you to. I'm making sure you don't kill yourself on the stairs." _Aww! He's so sweet! No, Lily! He's being annoying."_

"Whatever, Potter. I'm too tired to care." Sure enough, I climb three more steps and- KABOOM! I'm floating? What? How'd that happen? I love magic. And James…. _No you don't! Oh, right. Ha-ha. I should be yelling at him now. I really don't care though._ "Potter, kindly drop me off at my door and, um, let's see: LEAVE!!"

"Okay."

"You're actually listening?"

"Well, we are at you're door."

"Oh." And I'm being slowly lowered. My feet touch the ground and the door flies open.

"Goodnight, my Lilyflower."

"Go to bed, Potter."

"What? No 'sweet dreams'?"

"Sweet dreams, Potter."

"Always of you."

"You are soooo pushing it."

"Sorry."

"Just get lost."

"Fine." And a certain red haired sixth year will fall over onto a nice, fluffy Hogwarts bed in three…..two…..one…..

**Hope you liked it:) And if you're concerned about the lack of a plot line, I'm sorry. I'll try to come up with something. In the mean time, prepare yourself for fluff!**


	4. Winter in Hogsmead

**How happy are you that there's another chapter? You're ecstatic, I know. :) Enjoy! But before you go….I do not own the idea of James, Lily, Sirius, Remus, Peter, you get the point….but I DO own their personalities, somewhat and what goes on between them in this story. Not that you couldn't have guessed…..**

"Lily! Wake up. It's Hogsmead."

"Hang on…..Oof. Yep, I'm sore from standing in the stands yesterday." There was a Quidditch game yesterday and we were late, so we had to stand. Fun, right? Anyway. I managed to hoist myself off the bed, somehow and get dressed. Well, I don't feel like narrating with stiff muscles, so let me skip ahead.

"Hello my honey, hello my darling, hello my ragtime gal!"

"Potter, stop spouting off random Muggle songs."

"Not until you smile."

"Why would I do that? You're here." Jeanne giggled next to me; Potter's face fell. Now I could smile, but I won't. That would just please him. But it might make him go away…. Nah, too much work.

"You're mean today."

"Yeah, and?"

"You need cake." He walked towards me with his arms out.

"Potter, don't you dare." He smirked and threw me over his shoulder. I kicked and screamed all the way there. It wasn't too effective. Jeanne just followed with a grin on her face. We walked- or Potter and Jeanne did, I was carried- into Madam Puddifoot's. Why here?

"There you go."

"_Now_ you put me down. Why are we here, again?"

"To get you cake."

"You are a crazy man, Potter."

"Yay! You called me a man- uh; let's pretend you didn't hear that."

"Fine with me. Jeanne, sit down, come on, it's okay." Potter grabbed my arm and sat me down next to him. "What are you doing, Potter?"

"Helping you sit down."

"Why next to you?"

"Who's been after you since first year?"

"Right…..so….." Madam Puddifoot finally got around to our table.

"What would you like to-"

"Cake," James said without letting her finish.

"I'll have some tea, please. Jeanne, what do you want?"

"Coffee, please."

"Nothing to drink for you, dear?" she asked James.

"Umm, tea."

"It'll be out in a few minutes."

"Thank you." Wasn't that a fascinating and riveting event?

"Potter, is there any specific reason you ordered tea?"

"Yeah, but you won't want to hear it."

"I think I know what it is. I don't feel like yelling anymore."

"Maybe because you yelled all the way here."

"Only because you slung me over your shoulder!"

"Guys, stop yelling. People are starting to stare." Indeed they were. I blushed in embarrassment and sipped my tea once it had arrived. Unfortunately, I was too eager once it came. I hissed in pain. Very hot tea.

"Ow."

"Need a kiss to make it better?"

"Don't even try it, Potter."

"My hopes are crushed."

"So how did you get rid of your buddies?"

"I gave them gift cards to Honeydukes."

"You mean you spoiled them with your parents' riches?"

"That's pretty much it, yes." I shook my head.

"Never thought you'd need to bribe your friends."

"It's the only way I could be sure they wouldn't actually spy on me. A guy can't stay away from sweets. Especially ones with bright green gumdrop eyes."

"Potter!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Jeanne was smirking.

"Don't say a word." I glared daggers at her.

"I think I'll go to the Quillshop. Ta ta." She drained her coffee and fumbled in her pockets for the right amount of coins.

"Don't worry, friend of Lily's; I'll take care of it." She nodded at Potter and left, avoiding my glare with a smirk on her face.

"She is going to hear from me later."

"I don't doubt it. I'll probably talk to her, too. I'd like to thank her."

"Watch it."

"What if I don't want to?"

"Then I think you'll find a very unforgiving knee in your groin and a hand around your throat."

"Was that a threat, Miss Evans?"

"Indeed it was, Mr. Potter." I quickly hopped over to sit at the other end of the table and out of his reach.

"I see where we stand. Er- sit, rather."

"Yes, you're very articulate today."

"I know, right?"

"Before we go straight into the sarcastic banter, you are going to promise me something."

"Anything for you."

"You haven't heard what I want yet."

"So?"

"You are not to ask me out again or make any moves on me until after the holidays."

"But you and I are the only Gryffindors staying over."

"Oh, please. You've got a nice comfy mansion to go home to."

"Then come with me."

"Only in your dreams."

"But those are very sweet dreams."

"Whatever, just agree to the deal so you won't make me sick."

"I would never do that."

"Intentionally."

"Good point."

"Anyway, promise."

"I promise."

"You promise to…." I prodded.

"I promise to keep our relationship no more than friendly until after the holidays."

"Good."

"As long as you allow me to take you to the dance."

"Hmm. To be annoyed and asked out a lot or to be miserable, hmmm….."

"Oh, you know you want to go with me. Besides, your misery will only be temporary."

"I'd rather not."

"Fine. Evans, go with me to the next Hogsmead trip?"

"Not on your life."

"Okay then, misery it is."

"Oh, you!"

"'Oh, me' what?"

"You are very clever."

"I know it."

"And so are your friends."

"What?" Three faces were peering through the glass window of the store. Actually, one was pressed against the glass and distorted, one was peering, and the other was standing nearby, looking away. Or down at a book: I couldn't tell. Guess who was who? In order they were Black, Pettigrew, and Remus. Anyway, Potter turned around and I saw his glower. It had no effect on either of the three.

"Well, I guess I'd better go then, shall I?"

"Yeah, I'll come with you."

"Why? Our friendly gathering is over, I believe."

"Well, I've got to go pound Padfoot into the ground so I'm leaving, too."

"Whatever." I started walking. I was halfway to the door when I heard the clatter of coins hitting the table and running footsteps. Wow, that boy never gives up. I was by the door this time, but before I could leave, the 'lovely James Potter' opened it for me.

"Potter, I can deal with a door by myself.

"But you shouldn't have to."

"I'm going to the dance with you, so shut up and go away."

"Your wish is my command." And with that, he departed for the trio at the other end of the teashop with, "Padfoot, you'd better start running!" I heard a laugh and saw what must have been Black retreat into the distance. Suddenly the wind picked up and the remnants of snow swirled around me. I put my hood up and started towards the Quillshop to find Jeanne. I needed some parchment. Soon after that, I would need to comfort of a Hogwarts fire and a squishy armchair.

"Oh, Lilyflower." Potter singsonged.

"Ugh, Potter, get lost. I'm trying to sleep."

"Yeah, but you're in the middle of the common room, smudging the ink on your essay. It's late: you should get to bed." Common room? Since when? I sat up groggily. Yep. Common room. And my essay _was_ smudged. Great. I wonder what my face looked like. It must have looked funny, since James-Potter took one look at me and tried to suppress a smile. Tried, being the key word.

"Stop smirking and clean it up. I can't see it!"

"Yes, Oh Queen." I glared at him. He just laughed. I took this moment to look around me. The only people in the common room were me and Potter. Joy and fun. It really _was_ late.

"So what did you do to Black?"

"You'll see in the morning."

"Why isn't he down here making fun of me with you?"

"I _did_ tell you it was late."

"Then why are you awake?"

"Because I needed to make sure you were okay." Aww, how sweet. _Lily! Stop it. You're only going to the dance to get him to leave you alone for a while. Or is it? Stop it! Fine, fine._

"What happened to our deal? You know, you leaving me alone as long as I go to the dance with you?"

"And what in my manner has led you to believe that I am doing anything other than being friendly?"

"Touché. Now clean my face off. It's _evanesco_, remember? We had worked on Charms a bit during a free period a few weeks ago. The holidays were two weeks away and Potter hadn't stopped talking to me yet, despite our deal.

"Yes, of course I remember. _Evanesco_!" He said, pointing at my face. I tried not to flinch, but I did and the spell hit the sofa behind me, causing it to sizzle and blacken.

"Never mind, I'll do it so we don't set the common room on fire." I touched my wand to my face and silently performed the spell. Somehow, I was able to do perform spells without speaking better than some of the teachers. It was one of my inexplicable skills. James- I mean, Potter was awed by this, even though he was the next best in our year at it.

"Wait, _why_ can't we set the common room on fire?"

"Because I am a Prefect and will not allow it. No let's get to bed."

"But that means I can't see you."

"Remember our deal, or you will find yourself without a date to the dance and you will have made a fool of yourself."

"Oh, fine. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Potter."

"If we're friends now, why don't you call me James?"

"Old habits die hard."

"That's all too true, my Lily."

"I'm not yours, Potter."

"No, not yet." I opened my mouth to retort, but I knew there was no point.

"Be gone with your inflated head and silly notions." He chuckled and climbed the stairs to his dormitory. I followed suit and headed off to bed.

**So, what did you guys think? I hope you liked it. :)**


	5. Christmas Bonding

The holidays came fast. Over the last two weeks, Potter- I should call him James now- had become closer. Granted, I only thought of him as a friend, and he was still irritating, but it was fun being with him. My mind had stopped yelling at me, which was a bonus. I also got to know the rest of the so-called Marauders a little better. Remus wasn't as bookwormish around them and he actually had a sense of humor. Pettigrew, well my view of him hadn't changed much. He was a tagalong and he was always stuffing his face. He creeped me out a little bit, but then I had been knocked over by a fat man when I was young. It scarred me for life. Sirius, I know, I'm calling him by his first name, amazing, right? I still call him Black when he's annoying, though. Anyway, he's funny and he immediately releases the tension in the room. But James is the one that I feel that I can tell anything too. Though of course I don't; I'm not stupid.

"Evans!"

"Hey, Sirius." His hair was still tinged violet from James' revenge after the last Hogsmead trip.

"Just wanted to say goodbye for the holidays."

"You aren't staying?"

"No, I'm going to invade Moony's house. I wanted to give you and Prongs some alone-time." I laughed. The idea of me and James together was ridiculous, but it didn't bother me like it had before.

"Whatever. Where's Remus? I wanted to say goodbye to him. And get my book back." He laughed and his violet-gray eyes sparkled with mischief.

"I'll go get it for you." And he went skipping (Merlin, he's insane) off. A few seconds later, I heard Remus shout before I saw him chase Sirius into the Great Hall again.

"You didn't have to make him wet himself."

"But it's fun." Remus scowled behind him, but a smile played at the corners of his mouth.

"Anyway, Happy Christmas you two. Black, where's my book?"

"Right here." He tossed it over for me to catch. I failed miserably.

"Thanks for that. Tell Pettigrew I'll tan his backside if he doesn't save some of his mum's fudge cake for me. I have yet to try it." Apparently, Pettigrew's mother was an excellent cook, her specialty being the very cake I had just mentioned.

"I will. Or Moony will remember." I smiled.

"Oh, hurry up or you'll miss the train."

"What? No escort?"

"What happened to the last member of your little gang?"

"Oh, Prongs? He's not coming. He'd rather abandon his best mates for you." He faked a pout.

"Get going, Sirius. Remus is way ahead of you."

"No, Moony! Not you too!" He sprinted after the boy in mock desperation. I shook my head. They were so silly. Especially those nicknames. What did they mean? Just at that moment, James walked in.

"Are they gone yet?"

"Yes they are."

"Good. More time with you for me."

"Hey, none of that. I am going with you to the dance, remember?"

"Oh, you spoil my fun. Are we the only ones staying?"

"The only students."

"Joy. What will we find to do? At least no one will be watching the secret- um….."

"More of those passageways I've been hearing about?"

"Maybe. What would the lovely Miss Evans like to do?"

"Honestly? Read."

"You're worse than Moony." I rolled my eyes.

"What's up with those nicknames, anyway?"

"It's a secret."

"Oh, so I'm not as good as your Marauder friends?"

"It's not my secret."

"Whose is it?"

"It's the Marauders' secret."

"Whatever. You can tell me later." Lunch appeared and we stopped talking to stuff our faces instead. We idled in the Gryffindor tower, playing games of chess that got steadily more boring. James suggested a walk outside, but then the wind started blowing harder, so he gave up on that. I really wanted to read, but at the same time, didn't want to be rude. Finally, he said, "Why don't you go read? We have a week and a half together, after all."

"No, I don't mind. I could tutor you some more." He gave me a look and we said "Nah!" at the same time.

"So…..How about some Exploding Snap?"

"No, I'm afraid of loud noises. It's silly, but I am."

"Really? Well, I'll try to keep it to a minimum when the guys come back."

"It's okay. You don't have to do anything for me. Do you like art?" Where did that come from? Oh, yeah. I had an old, beaten up sketchbook in my trunk somewhere…

"Not really, why?"

"Because I'm itching to draw something. Or read, one of the two." He laughed.

"I could be your model." He joked, sprawling on the couch in a supermodel fashion.

"Yes, you could, but not in that position. It doesn't look natural."

"Fine. Go get your sketchbook and hopefully my position will be better then."

"Okay." I went skipping up the stairs for some reason and dug through my belongings. Within minutes I was back downstairs, sketching James' very masculine figure. Whoah. Where did that come from? It's like my mind was trying to trap me into- no. Not going to think about it. I keep sketching, but the pencil marks are darker now. Time passes slowly, and I felt sorry for taking so long.

"Are you okay with not moving for an hour?"

"I'm a bit stiff. Are you done yet?"

"With you, yes. With the background, no."

"Why don't you just stick with me?" He said flirtatiously.

"Because you'd be floating in midair if I didn't at least add the couch."

"But then I'd be flying. What's wrong with that?"

"You can move. All I'm doing is drawing the couch.

"I'd much rather have you keep looking at me, though." He grinned.

"Dance." I reminded him. His grin disappeared.

"I really don't see why you can't give this a try. We get along so well together, and I know you like me."

"As a friend, nothing more."

"Well, for the past six years, I've been your enemy. Why can't you take another step?"

"James, stop pushing it."

"You've never called me James before."

"I haven't? Oh right, that's only in my crazy mind. I call Sirius 'Sirius'."

"But you haven't stopped calling me Potter."

"Well calling you by your surname was unintentional, so stop trying to make me feel guilty. It might just work."

"Oh, Merlin forbid that you actually love me." I blushed something close to scarlet and he let up.

"So, what do you want to do now?"

"It's time for supper."

"That sounds like a plan."

"Let's get to it." And we walked down, ready for a feast. Unfortunately, I knew there was still a slight blush in my cheeks.

Two days later when we were utterly out of ideas of what to do, James showed me a secret passageway. It led out of Hogwarts, obviously, and into Honeydukes. As soon as we were in and above the trapdoor, he got out the invisibility cloak. It was turning out to be very handy, even though he and Black used it all the time to break the rules. I was right next to him under a swatch of fabric. I was slightly uneasy about breaking the rules, but I couldn't help but think I was glad to be pressed up against his body. Whoah. Random thoughts popping into my head without my permission. Get out. Okay. I'm good. We climbed the stairs and went through the door, waiting for the right moment to pull of the cloak. Finally, the old man at the counter turned around.

"So, Lily. What did you have in mind?"

"Chocolate Frogs, I guess. And Sugar Quills."

"Always a safe choice." He put his arm around my shoulders and I was reluctant to shrug it off. I did anyway, but after about thirty seconds. James noticed, but kindly said nothing about it. What was happening to me? I only liked him as a friend. Right? The man at the counter looked over. James picked up half of the display of candy and dropped it on the counter.

"Is that enough for you?" I said this, sarcasm thick in my voice.

"Yep. And some for you, too."

"I don't need anywhere near half of that."

"Think of it as an early Christmas gift."

"I thought you already got me something."

"Well, I'm giving you something else, too."

"You don't have to."

"Are you going to pay for this or not?" The counter person was getting slightly annoyed by our banter.

"Yes, sorry." James pulled out a handful of money and tossed it on the counter. The man took it and neatly organized it in the cashbox before bagging up the sweets.

"Have a nice day."

"Thank you." We left the store.

"So, where are you taking me now?" I asked jokingly.

"We could go to the Three Broomsticks. Or Madam Puddifoot's again."

"Let's stick with the Three Broomsticks." No pink lace for me.

"Okay." Along the way, we passed the Quillshop. The last time I was there, I saw the prettiest set of stationary. The parchment was dyed a light purple with a lily in the corner. It was on display and I caught my breath when I saw there was only one set left. I guess I would have to wait for something similar to come out. We sat down and started another string of banter while waiting for our Butterbeers. At least were going to, if James hadn't asked that one question.

"If I were to ask you out again, how would you feel?" I choked on my drink.

"What?!" He repeated the question, a serious look on his face.

"If I were to ask you out again, how would you feel?"

"I-I would tell you that you needed to lay off until after the dance. That was our deal."

"I know what you would say. But how would you feel?"

"I-I guess I would feel a little annoyed. But I wouldn't be angry enough to bite your head off." He frowned.

"Okay. So, how are things going with the dance?" I exhaled at the change of subject.

"Good. We'll have a week to tweak things after the holidays."

"So, what kind of dance is it?"

"Dancing, food, moonlit areas for strolling. It's all pretty normal."

"When is it?"

"Next Saturday." He stiffened. That was weird. "Is something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing. Do you want to go back to the castle?"

"Sure." I still wanted to get some reading in. We left and went through yet another passageway, emerging near the Room of Requirement. James had taken me there once. Okay, five times. Each time it looked different, with some form of tinted windows, dimmed lighting and soft music playing in the background. Yes, I was suspicious about it, but I didn't feel like saying anything. It would just lead to more awkwardness. Either way, we went back to the common room. I went up to get a book while James went down to the kitchens. I shook my head: boys and their appetites.

"Lily."

"Mm?"

"Lily, wake up."

"Mm!"

"Lily, it's Christmas morning." I sat up, wide awake, muscles stiff from subconsciously trying to keep from falling off the common room couch.

"I'm awake." James chuckled. A pile of presents was on the coffee table next to my makeshift bed. I stretched and rolled my neck before somewhat greedily snatching one off the top. It was from Remus. Inside was none other than, drum roll, please: a book. Who would have guessed?

"A romance novel? Remus gave you a romance novel?"

"What's wrong? You look worried."

"Why would he give you a romance novel?"

"Because I asked for it. Why? Are you jealous?"

"No." He said over-defensively. I suppressed a smirk.

"Okay, next present." It was from my parents. I opened the package carefully-the paper was beautiful- and saw, to my delight, an exquisite Muggle pen. It was the same color as that parchment I would never get….

"How does that thing work?"

"It works almost the same as a quill, but without the splattering."

"Okay, open this one next."

"Why?"

"Because you're opening mine last."

"Oh, fine." He handed me one from Pettigrew. I thought I knew what it was and I was right. His mum was notoriously generous and had made me a fudge cake of my very own.

"This looks soooo good."

"Trust me, it is." James grinned his stunning grin.

"So, which present are you going to thrust at me next?" There were three left, not including his, which was supposedly behind his back. I _might _have been over exaggerating when I said _heap_ of presents.

"This one." He thrust the package at me.

"Sirius actually sent me a present?"

"Well, you _are_ considered his friend now."

"That fact must have slipped my mind."

"Well, don't just sit there; open it."

"Oh, hush." Inside was a card that looked like something from a Muggle in elementary school. And a prank kit. The inside of the note resembled the outside.

_You're not an official member of the group until you prank someone, Kid._

_Got to get you started ASAP._

_Get Prongs to help- he's good at that stuff._

_He's a maniacal genius._

_Hey, I just used a big word! YAY!_

_I feel smart._

_Anyway, Happy Christmas, Evans._

"I feel so complimented." James commented.

"Not as much as me." My voice was dripping sarcasm.

"Next one." There was no name inside, only a beautiful locket with a silver lily inlaid atop the silver heart. This was accompanied by a short note in elegant handwriting. **(a/n: my computer is stupid and only has normal-looking fonts, so….yeah.)**

_A reward for your hard work the last six years._

_To keep your loved ones close._

"That's a tad odd."

"No, really?" Hopefully you can catch the sarcasm. If not, you're out of luck.

"Really. Last one before yours." It was from Snape. That kid never gave up. The small box was wrapped in silver and green. It was made of a dark wood with silver clasps. My name was delicately carved on the top. I snuck a look at James. His face was tight and his eyes cold.

"James? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You don't actually think this is going to change how I feel about him after what happened in fifth year, do you?"

"It might have crossed my mind."

"Well it won't. He needs to get over himself. I don't see that happening. Ever. So smile. It _is_ Christmas."

"Good point. And last, but certainly not least: my gift to the lovely Lily Evans." The package was a manageable size, surprisingly. I slowly unwrapped it, taking time to agonize him. The first thing I saw was a portion of the candy he bought on our unofficial trip to Hogsmead. The next was supposedly what he had already picked out. A beautiful gold chain lay inside a velvet covered box. On it, was an elegant L set with green gems. The third item surprised em even more, thought that was nearly impossible.

"Oh, James. You shouldn't have. This all must have cost so much. I know, because I had my eye on this." I held up the last item: the set of parchment I saw in Hogsmead. I couldn't contain my self I was so happy. I hugged him with a, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Um, Evans?"

"Yes?" I queried, still hugging him.

"As much as I love you hanging onto me, you might want to stop."

"Oh, right." I blushed and removed myself. "Thank you, though. Again."

"Your welcome. Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas. Now, I believe it's your turn to open presents."

"Right. That. They're upstairs." I followed him to his dorm, even though I would have died before doing so in September. "I kind of opened them already. Except for this one." He held up my package.

"Hey! That was in my trunk. Why do you have it?"

"I don't know. Those house elves are tricky."

"Oh, forget the mystery. Let's move on." He also opened his last present with painful deliberation. His eyes bugged out when he got around to seeing the contents.

"You got me a book?!" He said in disbelief.

"Reading's fun; you should try it some time."

"You have got to be kidding."

"Just be glad it's not like the one Remus gave me."

"Good point. What's it about, anyways?"

"Read the summary. That's what it's there for."

"Umm, remind me how to read again?" I sighed in mock exasperation and read it to him. It was an adventure story, based on Muggle legends. When I'd finished, I remarked,

"Muggles' misconceptions are actually kind of funny. Read it; you'll like it."

"Oh, fine. I guess that's what you'll want to do today, anyway."

"Actually, I'm going to write thank you notes."

"Don't waste that stationary."

"Don't worry; I'm saving it for something more special than this."

"Good." I went down the stairs and up the staircase next to it, up to my room. I grabbed some parchment and my new pen, only to retrace my steps back to James' dormitory. I scribbled while he read. I looked up after a half an hour. James was almost at the end.

"You read really fast."

"I do?"

"Yeah. It's only been a half an hour. That's a 350 page book." He blushed.

"Wow. It's really good, though. Thanks."

"I knew you'd like it. The only question is what book to get you for your birthday."

"Yeah, that _will_ be hard. I might have read the school's entire library by then."

"Oh, the horror of horrors. Remus will be put to shame."

"He will indeed." I wrote maybe three more notes and I was done.

"I'll just go post these real quick."

"You might want to get dressed first."

"Oops." I blushed again. I thought of running into Dumbledore in my pajamas. And fluffy kitten slippers. I went back to my room and put on fuzzy sweatpants and some random shirt before heading down with some bits of string while trying to roll up the notes. I was halfway out the portrait hole when James popped up next to me.

"You'll kill yourself on the stairs if you don't pay attention."

"I probably will." I wouldn't remember which note was which, either.

"Nice shirt, by the way." I looked down. It was the same shade as my eyes and extremely low cut for me. I blushed a third time. Why was this happening so much today?

"I wasn't really paying attention."

"It looks good."

"Just don't stare."

"I can't help myself."

"Well you'd better learn before I knee you in the groin again." That brought back painful memories for him. It would for any guy, I suppose. He looked pointedly away, making me laugh. We had arrived at the Owlery by now. I rolled each note, one by one before sending one school owl away at a time. I hadn't noticed that a rather large owl had flown down to land on James' arm. Not until I had rolled up the last note. By that time, I was looking for another owl to do my bidding. There weren't any.

"Use my owl." I looked over and gasped.

"He looks so regal. What's his name?"

"King."

"That makes sense. Are you sure he won't maul me?"

"No, he's actually very friendly." I reached hesitantly towards one of his legs, before James stopped me. "Put it in his mouth."

"If you say so." My hand shook as I got closer. To my surprise, King obediently opened his mouth for me to place it there. I did so, saying the address afterwards. The bird seemed to nod at me before flapping away. "That is one strange bird."

"He was specially bred. He might very well be the smartest bird in England."

"Just flaunt your parents' money, why don't you."

"I think I will." I grinned and we walked down to the Great Hall.

"Wait. So it's okay if you walk around school in your pajamas?"

"They're basically what I normally wear." I looked at his T-shirt and sweatpants.

"True." I led the way to the table. After that, he had no trouble navigating his way through the many dishes and platters smothering the long table.


	6. Freaking Out and Having Doubts

**Hey guys. Sorry about my lack of disclaimer in the last chapter. I forgot. But basically it would say the same thing as this one: I do not own the characters or anything else you recognize from J.K. Rowling's books. I do, however, own what goes on between said characters and how I want them to interact. But you all knew that, so….**

"Would you kindly allow me to accompany you to the dance?" James had popped out of thin air, almost, and startled me. The Christmas Dance was this Saturday. It was only five days away, seeing how it was Monday night.

"You know you don't need to ask. We made a deal, remember?"

"Ah, my dear, but this seems more natural."

"With the old-fashioned attitude and formal manners?"

"Yea, verily." I laughed.

"You really need to stop."

"Fine. But will you go with me?"

"Yes, Mr. Potter. I would like very much for you to escort me to the dance."

"Now it's your turn to stop."

"But I have no wish to. It's actually quite amusing."

"Isn't it, though?"

"Yes, indeed. Okay, I'll stop."

"Thank you….kindly." He grinned. "Would you like me to walk you to your ever-important Prefect/Heads meeting?"

"Why not?"

"Okay. Let's get going."

"It's _my _meeting."

"_Well, then._" He said in mock affront. We walked to the Head Tower. Maybe I would be there next year. _Dare to dream_, my mind scolded me. "I believe this is where I leave you."

"Yes, it is."

"When do you plan to end the meeting?"

"Around eight. Are you picking me up or something?"

"Something like that." He kissed me on the cheek and disappeared around the corner before I could say anything. I whispered the password and waited for the portrait hole to open. I stepped inside, dazed. Where had that come from? I was going to the dance with him, but we were still friends, weren't we?

"You've got a lot of explaining to do, Mister," I warned as I stepped out of the portrait hole and my eyes alighted on the wonderful vision that is James. Why bother stopping myself? It's true.

"What do you mean?"

"How you kissed me an hour ago and then ran away with no explanation."

"What's the problem? We _are_ going to the dance together, right?"

"Yes, but I never gave you permission to kiss me, even on the cheek." Under past circumstances, I would be yelling and you would be seeing all capital letters and exclamation points on this page.

"But since you agreed, we _are_ kind of going out."

"I guess you're right."

"So which deserted classroom do you want me to snog you in?" I glared at him.

"Do you honestly think that were I going out with_ anyone_ that I would snog them after accepting one invitation?! You're horrible, James Potter!" I stalked off towards the common room in a fury. I heard James running after me. _Just like old times_. I smiled wryly to myself.

"Lily!" I sped up. He would never get over himself; I was foolish to think so.

"I don't want to hear your apologies. You could have stopped yourself and you didn't. You'll always be that immature little boy from fifth year." I turned and stormed off. I had my breath back once we had gotten to the common room. I saw Jeanne and ran towards her. "Oh my gosh! I feel like I haven't seen you in so long. How was your holiday?"

"Great. I got a bunch of Muggle stuff, though." She trailed off.

"You have to show it to me later, even if it _is_ Muggle stuff."

"Yeah. Oh my gosh, guess what?"

"What?"

"Gilderoy Lockhart, that boy from Hufflepuff, asked me to the dance!"

"Oh, that's great!" Jeanne had never been asked out before. I was happy for her.

"Who are you going with?"

"I kind of promised James last Hogsmead trip that I would go to the dance with him. But he took it as an invitation to try and snog me."

"So, you're angry. Typical." I looked at her quizzically.

"What?"

"You get mad at him whenever he does something even remotely wrong. I think you're just afraid to open yourself up and see what could happen."

"I am not. He's a big-headed toe rag and a filthy womanizer. I want nothing to do with him."

"You have had plenty to do with him for the past month." I glared.

"Let it go. You just came back and I want to know what your vacation was like." I needed something to distract me, and this was the perfect excuse.

"Jeanne's going to the dance with the Gilderoy Lockhart." I said, trying to get the attention away from me. Jeanne had told the others in our dormitory that I was going to the dance with Potter.

"From Hufflepuff?" Jeanne nodded shyly.

"Ahhh! Congratulations!" Theresa hopped off the bed and hugged Jeanne.

"You can let go, you know."

"Sorry." She straightened herself out with faked chagrin.

"Okay, bye guys. I'm off to yell at any miscreants downstairs."

"If you _must_ abandon us." Theresa rolled her eyes.

"I must. Ta ta." I heaved myself off my bed and went down the stairs. Sitting in a corner of the room were all of the Marauders. I practically threw myself at Remus; I was so happy to see him.

"Thanks for the book. It was good. I liked it a lot."

"You're welcome." He looked stressed and resigned. He probably knew all about what had just happened between me and James. But he looked frighteningly pale.

"Are you okay?" I asked, my head tilted to one side.

"Yeah, he's fine. But what about me?" Sirius arranged his features to evoke pity from me.

"I'm sorry, Sirius. Thank you for your prank kit. I'll have to use some of them on Petunia." He grinned.

"No problem." I turned to Pettigrew.

"Your mum's cake was amazing. Tell her I said thanks in your next letter. Again."

"I will." His voice was still high and childish. Poor kid. I glared at James and headed outside to the grounds. I still had an hour before I needed to be in bed, according to Hogwarts rules. So much for catching miscreants.

The wind whipped my robes and tangled my hair as I walked towards the lake. I stopped under the willow tree and stood, staring at the smooth, glassy surface. What Jeanne said came into my thoughts. _You get mad at him whenever he does something even remotely wrong. You're just afraid to open yourself up and see what could happen._ Was she right? I mean yes, I did get upset when he started flirting with me. But did that mean I was afraid to try out this relationship?_ Yes._ No. _Yes._ No! He's a rotten person who takes advantage of any girl he sees. _He's stayed loyal to you for the past six years._ But I agree to go to the dance with him and he tries to make a move. _Who can blame him for trying?_ I can. I sighed. Was the problem really James? Or was it me? Was I hurting him to save myself? The questions raced inside my head so fast I couldn't stand it. I walked back to the castle and up to the common room. James was nowhere to be seen. Only Remus remained, haggard and deathly white.

"Remus, what are you doing down here? You look like you could use some rest."

"I wanted to talk to you about James."

"Figures. Look, Remus. He asks me to the dance. I say yes. He asks me to snog him after I agree to one date that hasn't even happened yet. How would you react to that?"

"I understand what you mean, but you know that it's just in his nature."

"Yeah, and it's in his nature to date girls and drop them a month later, too."

"So you're afraid? Lily, the only reason he's dumped them is because he was too busy thinking about you." I looked down.

"I don't want to talk about this right now."

"Well, who are you going to talk to? Any of your friends are just going to tell you to forgive him. I'm impartial."

"Sure you are. You're one of his best friends, one of his confidantes."

"That doesn't mean I agree with him on everything."

"Remus, it's late. We _do_ have classes tomorrow." He sighed.

"You're right. And I could use the sleep. But you have to talk about it sometime."

"You can't make me."

"I think Slughorn keeps some Veritaserum somewhere in his office…."

"You wouldn't." I glared at him and my brows furrowed deeper when he nodded and smirked. I turned and stalked away up to my dorm. Well, the rest of the week would be _so_ much fun.

**Hope you liked it! I'll try and answer the many questions I have popping up everywhere. And I'll try to bring some other characters into the story that I only mentioned fleetingly. But anyway, please review:)**


	7. The Dance:Part 1

**Hi! Finally the night of the dance has arrived! And, even though you already know: I am not J. K. Rowling and therefore do not own anything taken from the Harry Potter series. Though I **_**do**_** own the character's personalities and what happens in my story.**

The rest of the week, I avoided Remus the best I could, never giving him more than a few seconds to speak to me. Instead, I took the secret passageways that I discovered during rounds. I also surrounded myself with my friends, retreating into my dorm right after dinner. On Friday morning, James came to talk to me.

"So are you still ignoring me, or are you going to go to the dance with me tonight?"

"That depends. Are you going to apologize?"

"I'm sorry for trying to get you to snog me. I'm sorry for assuming you would after one date."

"That date hasn't even happened yet."

"True. So, will you forgive me?" I sighed.

"I'll go to the dance with you James, but only as a friend."

"That's more than I deserve."  
"You're right about that. Now can you please tell Remus to lay off?"

"Yeah."

"Can I ask a question?"

"You just did." He smirked when I glared.

"Anyway…. Why did he look so sick the night that- Monday night?"

"That's also a secret that's not mine to share." I had forgotten about my unanswered question about the boys' nicknames.

"I can live with that. Provided you _do_ get him to stop bothering me."  
"I will. Provided you tell me exactly how beautiful you're going to look tonight so I know how many flowers to get you."

"Well, if you must know…."

"I must."

"I'm wearing a green dress,"

"To match your stunning eyes." I blushed, but continued.

"And silver heels and a matching shawl."

"What? No tiara for the princess?"

"I'm hardly a princess."

"If you're not a princess, I'm not a Marauder."

"You're not? I could have sworn you spent every waking moment with Sirius."

"Ha ha. Very funny." We smiled.

"So I'll see you tonight." I stood up.

"Yes, you certainly will. And I'll be sure to bring a tiara for my princess." I hit him playfully before heading to my first class.

No one paid any attention the whole day and most teachers knew better than to make us work. Most. McGonagall and Professor Binns, of course, didn't. By the end of the day, everyone was jittery; the girls raced up to their dorms to prepare. I, on the other hand went to the library to finish that pesky History of Magic essay.

"Lily! Why aren't you in the dorm?" I looked up to see Theresa.

"I only need to put my dress on. It's not going to take five hours."

"It will if you're going to impress James." I rolled my eyes and let her pull me through the halls and into the common room. I slipped on the dress.

"See, I told you it wouldn't take long."

"You can't go just like that!"

"Why not?"

"You've got to put make up on!" Theresa pulled me into a chair in front of her makeshift vanity. I sighed as she applied blush, lipstick, and eye shadow. I opened my eyes.

"Wow."

"See the difference?"

"Yes." She smirked.

"Now it's time to do your hair." Alice giggled from her bed. "You'll be next," Jeanne warned. Theresa had already given her a makeover. After much pulling and pinning of my hair, Theresa was done. She had curled it a little more than usual, piling it atop my head. It took me a while to realize that she had cut the front strands of hair to give me bangs that lined my face.

"You cut my hair?!"

"Oh, you know you like it."

"But you didn't ask!"

"Exactly. If I had, you wouldn't be looking so hot." I rolled my eyes.

"Well, get going. We have to see what Alice comes out looking like." Alice groaned, but, soon enough, she was done up and looking just as beautiful as the rest of us. Theresa giggled.

"That Frank Longbottom is going to blow a fuse." Alice glared and her face was turning pink from blushing.

"What are you going to do to yourself?"

"You'll see." The girliest of my friends got dressed and brushed on a mountain of make up as opposed to what she did to us. She straightened her hair and put it into a bun.

"Well, are we ready to go?" We all nodded. "Then let's get going. Lily, don't forget your wrap thingy."

"I won't, Mother." She rolled her eyes and we left. All of our dates were waiting at the bottom of the stairs, talking. They didn't notice us until Theresa giggled. I took a step back into the shadows so James couldn't see me. Theresa ran down first into the arms of a Ravenclaw Quidditch player. Alice followed, greeting her boyfriend, Frank. He turned bright red when he saw her. Jeanne shyly went down to meet Gilderoy Lockhart. Gosh that boy is cute. But not as cute as James. His stunning hazel eyes searched for me. I figured I'd better not keep him waiting, or Theresa would give me a lecture. I stepped out of the shadows and descended the stairs. It was unnerving to see-and feel- all the waiting couples' eyes trained on me.

"Lily." James breathed. "You look amazing."

"Well, you can thank Theresa for that." He held up a bouquet of flowers, making me blush as I grasped it. He also had in his possession a silver tiara. There were quite a few emeralds set into it.

"Oh, James. You shouldn't have." I blushed redder as he set it on my head. I reached up to fix it, but there was nothing to fix.

"Of course I did. You're my princess."

"And just when I thought my blush was going away." He grinned and took my hand, leading me into the Great Hall. Three of the House tables were lining the walls. The other was nowhere in sight.

"So, where would you like to start?"

"Considering I can't dance, I'd say the food."

"I'm sure you can dance." I frowned.

"But that can wait until the beast's appetite is sated." I smiled sweetly and let him lead me to a table that was heaped with food.

"What catches milady's eye?"

"Everything. It all looks so good."

"When is it ever not?"

"When there's a Slytherin near us." I whispered. He looked over and his expression hardened. Snape was heading towards us.

"Why, Lily. You are looking quite beautiful tonight."

"Thank you, Severus." I said, laying a hand on James' arm.

"Would you like to dance?"

"Sorry, but James is my date tonight and he should get the first dance."

"Very well," he said. "Perhaps later." I felt James tense.

"Perhaps. And thank you for that jewelry box. It was exquisite."

"Yes, but no match for you, I fear." This was too much for James.

"Get out of here you bloodsucking vermin," James said through clenched teeth.

"Ooh. Touchy, are we? I was unaware that I was doing anything but having a conversation with a friend."

"Really, Severus. James, calm down. Severus, I think it's better that you go."

"Your wish is my command." I turned to James as Snape stalked off.

"You really do need to calm down. There's no need to be jealous of him. There's not any chance of what you think might happen, happening. Not after last year."

"But-"

"No buts. Now eat, before I get mad." He grabbed a cookie off a plate. "You have to eat real food at some point, you know."

"Yes, Mother." James shoved the rest of the cookie into his mouth and took a sandwich, nibbling at it.

"You're being more ladylike than I am. Where has your appetite gone?"

"It disappeared after I saw you tonight." I rolled my eyes. We talked for a few more minutes until a relatively slow waltz song played.

"May I have this dance?" I sighed as he proffered a hand.

"You're going to make me dance at some point. Why not get it over with now?"

"Exactly." We walked onto the dance floor. I placed a hand on his shoulder and the other one in his. He placed one on my waist. My heart beat faster at his touch. We started moving as I followed his footwork, completely unaware that I was actually dancing.

"I thought you said you couldn't dance?"

"I never really tried." The song ended and he bowed. As lucky as I was that night, a slightly more modern slow song came on. I groaned silently, but placed my arms around his neck as he placed his on my hips. We swayed back and forth, slowly turning. He stepped closer, subtly closing the gap between our bodies. Not thinking, I rested my head on his shoulder. I was startled when Snape returned.

"May I cut in?" He asked with a smirk on his face. I looked up warily. James was scowling, but he politely stepped back when I glanced at him and nodded. My childhood friend took his place. There was more distance between us then when James and I had started. My arms were stretched as far as they would go.

"I know I already mentioned this, but you do look splendid."

"Thank you," I couldn't wait for this song to end.

"So what have you been doing these past few months?"

"Oh, the usual: schoolwork, spending time with my friends, talking with James…." I trailed off as he stiffened.

"Why do you like him?" He almost growled.

"He's not that bad once you get to know him. He hasn't bugged you since last year."

"No, but he wants to."

"I think you want him to, so you can get a chance to hurt him." He looked down at me with a scowl on his face.

"Well, it would teach him a lesson."

"He hasn't done anything to you that you haven't already gotten revenge for."

"Yes, he has. He took you."

"He doesn't have me. And I'm not something you can own!" I was angry by now, if you hadn't noticed.

"I didn't mean it like that."

"That's what they all say." My tone was accusing. It just made him angrier.

"Listen here you little Mudblood!" That was it. I wrenched myself away from him; his arms had tightened around mine, and ran out of the Great Hall. I begged that tears wouldn't come. I pulled off my heels and sat down on the stairs. My will wasn't strong enough to keep trickles of water from running down my face, ruining the work Theresa had done. I pulled off the tiara; it was hurting my head. Leaning my head against the railing, I let the tears come. James came out a few minutes later, running towards me and pulling me onto his lap and into his comforting arms. I held on to him, the tears coming faster as he asked what was wrong.

"He-he-he called me a Mudblood." For what seemed like the millionth time that night, James stiffened.

"I'm going to-" But I cut him off.

"D-d-don't do anything to him."

"Why not? He insulted you."

"I made him angry. Sure it was by accident, but it was still m-my fault."

"It's not your fault he can't control his anger."

"We were t-talking about you. He i-insulted y-you and I told him you hadn't done anything to him this year. He s-said that you did bec-cause you took me." He stiffened again. "P-please don't get angry. An-nyway, I told him I wasn't something anyone could own and he just k-kind of….snapped." The tears had stopped and James brushed the last one off of my cheek. He took the tiara in his hands and placed it back on. He lifted me up and set me on my feet.

"I know it's probably kind of itchy, but it completes the look." I laughed shakily, looking into his eyes. Green met hazel and my breath caught. There was a question in those eyes. In answer, I nodded a fraction. He leaned in and our lips met. Soft and reassuring, his mouth captured mine for only a second or two before my brain kicked in. I managed a ragged gasp accompanied by an apology before running up the stairs to the Prefect common room. I sat there for hours, crying fresh tears of shock.

**Sorry about the mini-cliff hanger. I promise that the night is not over. So, while you're waiting, you can review:)**


	8. The Dance:Part 2

**Hey, here's the remainder of the night of the Dance. And, as usual, the characters belong to J.K.R. and the plot belongs to me.**

I had just stopped crying tears of shock….and various other things when Remus walked in. Leave it to him to finally get me alone when I was totally unprepared and confused.

"James told me what happened. Or at least his version of what you told him."

"Go away, Remus. This is my problem."

"But you're my friend. That makes it my problem, too. I know you're not in here because of what Snape said to you. You're hiding from James."

"So what if I am?" I sighed. "I made a fool of myself tonight, Remus. I got some guy angry for no reason, and then I burst into tears when he calls me a name _because_ I got him angry. My date comes to comfort me and I kiss him. Then I run away because I'm too chicken to face him. How is there _not_ something wrong with that?"

"You're only human, Lily. Why are you so upset that you kissed James?"

"Because I only went out on one date and it went poorly. I wasn't able to stop myself from doing something stupid. We're just friends. It shouldn't have happened."

"You of all people should know you and James are more than friends. He's _only _been chasing after you for six years now." I looked up at the new voice.

"Sirius, what are you doing here?"

"_I_ am here for moral support."

"Guys, go back to the dance. I'll be fine."

"No you won't, Evans."

"Padfoot, this is hardly the time for teasing. She's upset."

"I'm not blind, Moony. Listen, Evans: James likes you. He's been waiting for you since first year. If you're not ready, he can wait for a bit longer."

"But I'm not ready. I don't know if I ever will be. I mean, he's so nice to me. I hardly deserve a guy like him."

"Why do you say that, Lily?"

"Because, Remus. I'm just an ordinary girl; James is so much more than an ordinary boy."

"Why do you say that?"

"He's Captain of the Quidditch team, he gets good grades in the most important classes without trying. He's handsome, funny, brave, and he has a good heart. I'm just a nerd."

"I bet that's not what he thinks." Sirius grinned from ear to ear.

"Stop grinning like a fool, Padfoot." James walked towards me, carrying my shoes.

"You heard every word I just said, didn't you?" I looked at him.

"How can you possibly think all those things? I want to be an Auror, but I'm failing Potions. It's a crucial part of the job. I tortured Sniv-Snape for five years until you finally knocked some sense into me. I'm tickled pink that you think I'm handsome, though." I giggled.

"But you're still too good for me."

"Lily, I'm hardly good enough for you. You're the second best in our class next to Moony, you're a Prefect, and you've never disobeyed one rule that I know of. You're gorgeous, kind, and braver than anyone I know. You're the only Gryffindor that can talk to Sniv-Snape without being blatantly obvious about your discomfort. You can't keep cheating yourself forever. You're probably the best person in the world. You can't help it if you have flaws." I sighed.

"I guess you're right…."

"Yeah he's right."

"Sirius, do you mind?"

"Sorry, Mate."

"What we're all trying to tell you, Lily…." Remus started.

"Is that you are a great person…" Sirius jumped in.

"And I would be honored if you would go out with me." James said with his hand out and a kind smile on his face.

"James, I would love to go out with you, but I think it would be better if we waited a little longer as friends. To see if this relationship will last."

"As if the last two months aren't proof enough."

"Padfoot, shut up."

"Sorry, sorry." I rolled my eyes and continued, supported by the understanding look in the boys' eyes.

"I'm pretty sure that it will, but I don't think I could stand it if-if it didn't."

"Lily, you know I would never hurt you or give you up after finally winning you."

"But James respects your decision and will wait for you." Remus finished for him, saving the situation from my offense at the implication that I could be 'won'.

"Thank you, Remus." I turned to James. "Thank you, too, James. For waiting. It's my fault that I'm not ready for this. I'm sorry."

"Merlin, Evans. Will you ever stop being so demeaning to yourself?" I looked over at Sirius with a sheepish grin on my face. I giggled when James smacked him upside the head.

"Thank you again, guys." I walked over to James and hugged him. "Now get back to the dance. I'll be down in a few minutes." I looked down at my now-wrinkled dress. I knew that the runny makeup on my face would look about a hundred times worse than a few creases.

"We'll see you later, Evans," Sirius called, halfway out the door, Remus on his heels.

"You don't have to come back down if you don't want to, Lily." I looked up into James' sparkling golden-brown eyes.

"But I _do_ want to. I want to make sure you behave yourself." I put on a playful face, trying to lighten the mood. He chuckled, a sound that warmed my heart. I hugged him again before watching him go. I sighed, pointing my wand at the dress, murmuring the appropriate spell to straighten it out. I managed to find a mirror in the lavish Prefect lounge. I cleaned up and reapplied slightly less makeup than Theresa would have liked. I pulled the various pins and things out of my hair, magicking them away in favor of letting my hair down. After maybe ten minutes of preparation and another five for calming down, I left the Prefect common room and headed back down to the Great Hall. I walked in as inconspicuously as I could, but I still felt people's eyes on me. James was waiting just inside the door to take my arm.

"Glad you could make it back down."

"I am, too, though I think this crown might be a little small."

"My apologies." James said a quick spell to enlarge it ever so slightly.

"I see you've mastered those charms you were having trouble with."

"All thanks to you," he complimented me with a jovial grin on his face. I smiled back up at him, my good mood lasting through the evening, despite the numerous times he swept me onto the dance floor. Well, it lasted through to the point when Sirius and Peter rushed by, dragging a distressed Remus behind them. James stopped in the middle of spinning me.

"I have to go help them. Please forgive me." I nodded and watched him go. Dejectedly, I went back over to one of the buffet tables. I poured a glass of punch and took a sip. Just then, Richard O'Connell came up.

"Are you feeling all right?"

"Oh, hello, Rick. Yes, I'm fine."

"So, you and James, huh?"

"No, we're just friends."

"So are you and Sirius. But you didn't come with him. Did you tell me 'no' a month ago because of James?"

"Rick, we're just friends. And I'm not quite sure why I said 'no', but that's not important."

"I guess you're right. Well, since it'll probably be a while until your _date_ returns. Would you honor me with a dance?"

"What harm can it do?" I took his hand and walked with him onto the dance floor. I think I may have caught sight of a scowling Severus Snape on my way out. But I let all my thoughts go as Rick twirled me around and the music played. The song ended and he kissed my hand.

"Thank you, Miss Evans."

"You're welcome, Mr. O'Connell." I walked outside and stared up at the moon. It was full and bright against the velvet black sky. Stars winked from behind the clouds. Then a howl cut through the air. The poor creature sounded devastated and in great pain. A snarl resounded not a moment behind. The wind howled and shrieked suddenly, tangling my hair and whipping my skirts around me. I went back inside to be met with none other than Severus Snape.

"Lily, let me apologize." I opened my mouth to tell him not to bother. "Wait. I'm sorry for talking about you like you were an object. I'm sorry for getting angry at you and calling you a Mudblood. I didn't mean it."

"Of course you did, Severus. If you didn't mean it, you wouldn't have said it. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm feeling rather tired."

"Lily, I _am_ sorry. And as much as it pains me to say, I am sorry for insulting Potter." He spat out the name. "If he makes you happy-"

"Thank you, Severus. But I must tell you that James and I aren't together." He seemed to perk up, but then muttered, "Not yet."

"Goodnight, Severus."

"Goodnight, Lily." I walked out the doors and into the Entrance Hall, up to my dorm. I went to take a shower, only to find Moaning Myrtle waiting in there.

"Oh, hello, Myrtle."

"Hi."

"What are you doing here?"

"I forget what being alive is like. I remembered how kind you were that day the Pettigrew boy got stuck and I wondered if you would help remind me."

"I'll try. But I doubt my life is very normal."

"Try, please?"

"Well, the year started off as usual, with James chasing after me and him trying to get me to go out with him."

"James Potter? He's cute."

"Yes, he is, rather. So it was all pretty normal until the first Hogsmead trip."

"I remember Hogsmead. I think I went once, maybe twice before I….died."

"Yes, it is splendid, isn't it? Such a quaint, comfortable village. Well, so I went to Hogsmead with my friend, Jeanne, when James walked up, told me I needed cake, and picked me up. He brought me over to Madame Puddifoot's tea shop. But before we got our tea, James' friends, including Peter, came and spied on us." Myrtle giggled.

"Was he angry?"

"I think maybe a little. He got mad at Sirius Black, but it was all in good fun."

"Sirius Black. I've heard that name before. He's a Gryffindor, too, yes?" I nodded.

"Yes. Shortly after that, the holidays came around. James and I were the only students who stayed. We became friends. I wasn't quite sure how I felt about him, but I knew I no longer detested him."

"You still sound as if you're confused about it."

"That's because I am." And I launched into a description of what happened tonight. Myrtle departed for her bathroom and I left for my shower and bed with a considerably lighter load on my mind.

**Basically it's fluff. But it's cute fluff, so I hope you enjoyed it anyway. If you review, I'll be reassured. :) **


	9. Hogsmead Again

**Hey. This chapter is in honor of the First of January. Happy New Year! Hope you like it and hope you can remember the usual disclaimer. What's J.K. Rowling's is J.K. Rowling's. What's mine is mine. Enjoy!**

Things were bound to be awkward after the night of the dance, but James, Remus, and Sirius made it less so. Despite their knowing the secret I was still uncomfortable admitting to myself, they pretended that nothing happened. Although they _were_ a lot more understanding.

"Evans, are you coming to Hogsmead?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Do you have a date?"

"No, Sirius, I do not have a date."

"Do you want to be mine?" I laughed.

"But then James would be jealous."

"He can handle it." He shrugged and grinned. I felt bad for any girls with crushes on him. His gorgeous eyes were enough to make me blush and I didn't like him, I liked- I'm not even going to think about it….

"Fine, Sirius. I'll go with you."

"Wonderful. I'll tell James right away."

"What?!"

"I'm only kidding. See you at supper."

"See you." The freezing winter was over and kids were spending time outside whenever it wasn't raining. The Divination Professor had predicted a sunny weekend and everyone was itching to get outside the castle and off the grounds.

The week passed in a blur. By Friday night, everyone was crazy. Games of Exploding Snap were so in abundance that you couldn't tell which cards belonged to which game. Needless to say that I walked around with a spell cast to muffle the loud noises.

Saturday dawned and everyone was tired. We all stayed up late in excitement and now, when the day had finally come, we're all almost too tired to get downstairs. Although I felt a great many people perk up in an instant once they were down in the Great Hall. The ceiling depicted a bright blue sky and an equally bright sun peeking out from behind a few wispy clouds. The ceiling nearly matched the brightness outside. Students were lined up at the long window at the back, their happiness and glee exploding in a loud cacophony of laughing and screaming. Finally, we settled down to our normal level of noise for a Hogsmead weekend and took our seats.

"Guess who." Two hands covered my eyes. I laughed.

"Sirius, just because you're my date doesn't mean you get to surprise me and cart me off somewhere." He sulked.

"And I was rather hoping to do that, too…. Dammit." I laughed again.

"Come on; let's get our share of the sunlight." I dragged him along and into one of the many courtyards of Hogwarts. We followed the line of students up to where Professor McGonagall was sitting. After she checked our names off the list, we were free to go where we pleased.

"How about Honeydukes?" Sirius was as ecstatic as a puppy. The sunlight was doing everyone good, and it seemed to be doing quite a lot for him.

"Sure. But don't steal anything. I'll be watching." I said this with a grin as he fake-pouted.

"Are you dead set against letting me have _any _fun?"

"No. But I _am_ dead set against letting you do anything illegal."

"But illegal things are so much fun!" He whined. I laughed. Just then, my smile vanished.

"Hide me!" I ran behind Sirius, trying to conceal myself behind his lean frame. Severus Snape was heading right towards us.

"He's gone." Sirius told me. I came out from behind him sheepishly. I could feel color coming into my cheeks. "Let's go, Honeydukes is only a few shops away." He lightly changed the subject and whisked me off into the candy shop. My good mood had been returned to me in a matter of minutes.

We sat in The Three Broomsticks with Butterbeers and our purchases an hour later.

"I have an idea. Why don't we play 20 Questions?" I suggested this for lack of anything better to hold our attention. Sirius just looked confused. "It's an American Muggle game. One person picks something and the other gets 20 questions to figure out what it is." He shrugged.

"Okay. I'll pick first."

"Is it alive?" I asked when he nodded for me to start.

"No."

"Is it food?" He grinned.

"Yes." I shook my head.

"Is it sweet?"

"Yes."

"Is it among the things we just bought?"

"Yes."

"Is it chocolate?"

"…..No." He made shifty eyes. However, the playful smile on his lips gave him away.

"It's a Chocolate Frog, isn't it?" He grinned.

"You're too good at this."

"No, you just stink at it."

"Fine, you pick something." I thought for a moment.

"Okay, go."

"Is it alive?"

"No."

"Is it food?"

"No. Are you mimicking my questions?"

"Perhaps. Is it a book?"

"Yes."

"You are so predictable."

"And you're not? If I remember, you picked chocolate. That's pretty predictable."

"I never said I wasn't. Was it a gift?"

"No."

"Did you buy it for school?"

"Yes."

"Is it _Hogwarts, A History_?"

"No."

"Damn."

"And you said I was predictable."

"Is it a book that you use in a class that you share with me?"

"Yes."

"Is it our Potions book?"

"No."

"Is it our Defense Against the Dark Arts book?"

"No."

"Okay, two books left then. Herbology or Transfiguration."

"Go on." But before he could, Snape broke up the conversation. Actually it was Snape _and _James.

"Watch your mouth, Snivellus." James' voice was cold, warning, daring.

"Why don't you make me, Potter?" Snape taunted.

"Why don't you try me?" His voice was still cold as he drew his wand. Snape should have been scared. I know I was.

"All right." Snape flicked his wand without a word and James shielded himself. Fast as lightning, he cast a spell. Snape blocked it, almost equaling James' speed and skill. They dueled back and forth, each blocking the other. At least they did until James got careless.

"Sectumsempra!" The curse hit James full on the chest. I cried out. He fell to the floor, clutching the growing cut along his chest.

"James!" I leapt out of my seat and raced to him. Sirius was a step behind. I took his shirt off and tore it into strips, wrapping them around his chest tightly. The bleeding would stop soon and he would be good as new, except he would be faint. He had already lost a lot of blood. Rage welled in me as I took in his unconscious form on the ground. I turned on Snape.

"How could you?!" The Slytherin's smirk of triumph vanished. "Why did you even start a fight in the first place?! You are an immature little boy, Severus! James never shot one spell at you that would harm you physically. And you shot countless ones at him. You attacked student and I shall see to it that you are properly punished. Along with 100 points from Slytherin!" He looked like he could hear the rubies falling from their place. Slytherin would not be winning the House Cup this year. There were only two months left of school and the Slytherins had never gotten more than 40 points in a month.

"Lily, I'm sor-"

"Sorry?! You know you're not sorry. Not for what you did. You make me sick, Severus. All you care about is your precious House standing and your pride. You start fights with someone who did nothing to you this year. Leave me alone and get out of my sight." But before he had the chance to leave, I motioned for Sirius to pick James' legs up and I held him by the shoulders. We made our way slowly back to the castle. Every few minutes we would stop and make sure James was still okay. Finally we were back at the school. We set him down and Sirius went to get the door.

"Uh… Lily?"

"What?" I was tired and worried.

"The door's locked."

**Mwahaha! I'm so evil! Hope you guys liked it and I promise to update ASAP. Once again, Happy New Year! And, if you're looking for another good James-Lily fanfic, look up "5 Marauders?" by Legolas' Rider. It's amazing. And she won't update until she gets reviews. **


	10. After James is Sliced Open

**Hey. Sorry about the title. My mind is being cruel and not creative. Hope you like it anyway. And, as you know, I'm not J.K. Rowling, I'm some random nerd who only owns the plotline of this story.**

"It's locked?!" No, it couldn't be locked. We needed to get James to the Hospital Wing.

"Yeah, come and see for yourself if you don't believe me." Sirius scowled.

"No, Sirius. I'm sorry. I believe you. I'm just stressed out is all."

"Me, too, Evans. Sorry."

"So, if the door's locked, how can we get in?"

"There are all the secret passageways, but they go from inside the school to Hogsmead. Prongs would have lost too much blood by the time we got back in."

"We could send a Patronus up to the castle."

"We could, but even _your_ Patronus isn't that powerful." That's the one thing I had trouble with in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"You're right, but we have to try." I pointed my wand to the general direction of the Hospital Wing. "Expecto Patronum!" My mind formed sentences explaining what we needed as a wispy white cloud floated up towards the top of the castle.

"And now we wait." Sirius sat down on the ground and I joined him.

"And now we wait." I said by way of agreement. "But if the Patronus doesn't work, what can we do?"

"We can't do anything." Just then, a house elf opened the door.

"Mistress Delancey says to get you up to the Hospital Wing as soon as possible."

"Oh, thank Merlin!"

"If you'd grab onto me, I'll Apparate you all up there." We did so and found ourselves in the Hospital Wing not a moment later.

"Thank you so much!" I said. "What's your name?"

"Widget, Miss."

"Thank you, Widget." I shot a glare at Sirius and he stopped sniggering immediately. "I'll have to come down to the kitchens sometime and see you again."

"No need for that, Miss."

"But I want to."

"You are very kind, Miss." And with that, Widget returned to the kitchens. Just then, Madame Delancey walked out of her office.

"Oh! Come over here and put him on the bed." She gestured to the bed nearest her. "It's worse than I thought. And I can't give him the potion until he's conscious."

"I'll take care of it!" Sirius said. "Oi! Prongs! Wake up, Mate!" James just groaned. Madame Delancey scowled and put a silencing charm on Sirius. With a flick of her wand, James was awake.

"Drink this Mr. Potter. You need rest and blood." James nodded meekly and downed the potion and repeated the process with a sleeping potion. Within seconds, he was lying back down, lightly snoring.

"Now, Ms. Evans. How did this happen?"

"Well, I'm not quite sure. He was having an argument with Snape when they started to duel. James got cocky and gave Snape an open shot. He used the Sectumsempra spell. I bandaged James up and took 100 points from Slytherin. Although I think he needs more punishment than that."

"Good work bandaging them up, Miss Evans. But I'm sure the Headmaster would like to hear Mr. Snape's side of the story as well. So in the mean time, Slytherin gets its 100 points back. Please find Mr. Snape and bring him up to Dumbledore's office. The password is _lollipop_. He can hear Mr. Potter's side of the story when he's awake." She undid the silencing charm on Sirius and we turned to leave.

"By the way, Miss Evans, nice work on that Patronus. Not bad for a student."

"Thank you, Madame Delancey." Sirius and I left to find Snape. Although a few minutes later, I found myself outside the Gryffindor Tower.

"Sirius, what are we doing here? We're supposed to be finding Snape."

"I know. The Marauders have a secret weapon, of sorts. _Banshee_." We stepped through the portrait hole.

"Secret weapon?"

"Yeah. We call it the Marauder's Map." He walked into the boys' dorm and rifled through a trunk. He pulled out a spare bit of parchment.

"Parchment?"

"No. Watch. I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." He tapped the map. My eyes widened as ink on the parchment showed itself. I saw teachers in their offices, the House ghosts wandering around, and one other student: Severus Snape.

"A map of Hogwarts?"

"Yep. And it shows where everyone is."

"Fascinating. We'd better head down to the Slytherin Common Room." I was in awe, but we had work to do. I was sure that confronting Snape was bound to be the _highlight_ of my day.

"Oi! Snape!" Snape turned and glared.

"What do you two want?" He spat.

"It's not what we want. Dumbledore wants the three of us in his office. Now." I wanted this over with, so I stood firm and resolute.

"Fine." He followed about six feet behind us the whole way. Nobody spoke until we approached the gargoyle.

"_Lollipop_." We passed through and I knocked on the door.

"Enter." We did and three chairs were conveniently and coincidentally in front of his desk. "Well, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"It's no pleasure for us, Headmaster." I motioned to me and Sirius.

"I assure you, Madame Delancey has explained what she knows. But what I am interested in is Mr. Snape's story." He looked at Snape. "Proceed."

"I was at the Three Broomsticks when Potter walked up to me. He warned me to stay away from Evans. I told him I wouldn't want to be around-" He swallowed. "I told him I wouldn't want to be around a filthy Mudblood like her anyway, so he needn't worry.

"He told me to watch my mouth; his voice went cold and hard. I told him to- do I have to do this in front of them, Professor?"

"Not if you do not wish to." He nodded at us and we left. It didn't matter. I knew the whole story now. Snape didn't sound like he was lying. Sirius however wanted to eavesdrop. I took him by the ear and pulled him along behind me all the way to the Common Room.

"You can either stay here or you can come with me to the Hospital Wing. But you will _not_ eavesdrop on the Headmaster. I'm sure the whole school will know tomorrow. Or you can wait for James to tell you when he wakes up and talks to Dumbledore."

"Fine, Mother." I rolled my eyes.

"What'll it be, then?"

"I'll stay here."

"Okay. Give me the Map." I would be keeping an eye on him.

"Fine! I'll go with you."

"Good. That makes it easier for me to keep an eye on you." We started off towards the Hospital Wing and, more importantly, James.

We had been sitting by his bed for a while when he started to stir.

"James?" I whispered.

"Lily?" He half-groaned.

"Yes, yes it's me."

"Wha-? Where am I?"

"You're in the Hospital Wing. Snape hurt you."

"I thought I was doing pretty well when we dueled."

"You got cocky, Mate."

"Well, _obviously_, Padfoot." Sirius grinned sheepishly.

"But the important thing is that you're going to be fine. You just need a little rest."

"But before you can do that, Mr. Potter, Professor Dumbledore would like to hear your side of the story."

"All right." He stood, stumbling.

"Miss Evans, please escort him there."

"Yes ma'am." Why me??? James slung an arm around my shoulders. I was hard pressed to keep him even remotely upright.

"What were you doing, at the side of my bed?" He asked when we had left the Hospital Wing.

"I'm your friend, why shouldn't I be at your side when you're hurt?"

"No reason. I just thought it would be a little awkward for you. I also didn't see you at The Three Broomsticks."

"Really? I saw you."

"How could you not with that duel going on?"

"Good point. I don't get why you fought with Snape over me, though. I told you I don't care what he thinks and you shouldn't either."

"I know. But it makes me so angry when he talks about people like that." He gave me a sideways glance, complete with charming grin. "Especially you." My cheeks got hot. And believe me: it wasn't just what he said. That grin made my knees weaken and my heart melt.

"Merlin, James. You are so obtuse sometimes."

"Obtuse? I'm not obtuse. I'm acute: a cute _guy_." I rolled my eyes.

"That's what _you_ think."

"You'll pay for that later, but we're here now. I must leave you, Fair Maiden."

"But Sir Knight, I must first accompany you to the door. And who will escort you back to the infirmary when you are walking like this?"

"A fair point to be sure. But I shall contact Sir Padfoot when my duty is done. I thank you for your kind words and service."

"I shall miss you until I can see you again. I wait in earnest for your recovery." By this time we had reached the door and James knocked.

"Enter." Dumbledore called. James staggered to the provided chair and I closed the door. I returned to Gryffindor Tower and found Sirius. How in the world would Sirius know when James was done speaking with Dumbledore? The Marauders sure were an odd bunch.

**If you liked it, review. If you hated it, review and give constructive criticism (the key word is constructive). If you thought it was the best chapter yet, review. Either way, if you read it, review. Or don't review, it doesn't really matter. But feedback is always nice to have.**


	11. Loss of Blood and Change of Heart

**Hey, hope you like it. It gets a tad sentimental at the very end, but the rest of it I find as lighthearted and entertaining as the other chapters. Have fun with it. Or…just read it, if you prefer. But before you do, remember I own only the plotline and not the characters.**

On Monday, there was some random little man sitting at the table with the teachers. Everyone walked in and immediately started talking about what he could possibly be here for. Finally, my ears were saved further torture when Dumbledore stood. Everyone fell silent immediately.

"As you have all figured out, there is someone here other than a student or a teacher. His name is Mr. Flitwick." Dumbledore faced Flitwick, motioning him to step up and continue.

"Thank you, Headmaster. I will be teaching the Sixth Years how to Apparate. Anyone 16 and above should report to the Great Hall on Wednesday at 7:30 sharp. And come prepared with enthusiasm." He grinned and stepped down from his stool and went back to his seat. People went back to chattering excitedly. Apparition Lessons! Well, Wednesday night would be fun.

Wednesday night was not fun. First we sat through a lecture about being focused and thinking of where we really wanted to go. We all got up and tried. No one was getting anywhere, which is they weren't until….

"Argh!" Sirius had appeared in his hoop and was bleeding profusely. Well, obviously he would, since his hand and been dismembered and was lying on the ground behind him. Madame Delancey appeared from nowhere and charmed his hand back on. She then rushed him up to the Hospital Wing.

"That, Children, was your first example of what is called Splinching. Young Mr. Black was not trying hard enough and part of his body- this time being his hand- was left behind. Continue, and don't forget: you must _want_ to get inside your hoop."

**Fifteen minutes later…**

"Argh!" James had splinched himself. His knee, it would seem, was floating in midair- well it was until it plopped on the ground. Again, Madame Delancey made a surprise appearance and took him away.

**Five minutes later…**

"Argh!" Guess who? Remus. This time it was everything from the calf and below.

**Six minutes later…**

"Eep!" Peter was on the floor, clutching his shoulder.

**Twelve minutes later…**

"Agh!" Severus Snape, of all people, was lying on the ground, missing a finger. His eyes were glistening and he was quietly whimpering to himself.

**Seventeen and a half minutes later…**

"Ah! Fu-Fudge pops!" Yes, I, Lily Evans, had splinched myself. My nose, yes, my nose of all random things, was lying just feet away. I was drug up to the Hospital Wing by Madame Delancey.

The Apparition lessons were over in another twenty minutes. There was one new arrival during this time- a fifth year who snuck in and thought he could get away with it- he splinched himself as well, half of himself to be exact.

"Now. All of you need to stay the night so I can insure that you won't faint from blood loss tomorrow." We all groaned. Staying the night in the Hospital Wing was bad enough, but staying the night with Snape, a random fifth year, and all four of the Marauders? I probably wouldn't be able to get any sleep at all.

Nine o'clock came around. Jeanne and Alice had stopped by to see how I was doing and to drop off my homework. After that, all hell broke loose. I had finished it all by now and my eyelids were starting to droop. James and Sirius started fooling around and Snape started scowling and sulking in his bed in the corner. Finally, I'd had enough.

"Oi! Pipe down! I want to get some sleep tonight and neither of you buggers is going to stand in my way. Stop making noise or I'm going to bloody massacre you! I know I'm not the only one that feels that way, so shut your faces."

"Geez Prongs. Are you sure you like her? She gets cranky when she's tired."

"I don't know, Padfoot. Maybe I can cheer her up."

"Yeah, by shutting yer bleeding pie hole."

"Oh, my Lilyflower, you really do need to calm down."

"I want to calm down. I want to get to sleep. But I can't do that when you're making a bloody racket the shrieking shack would be ashamed of, now, can I? Now shut up and go to bed."

"But-"

"Just do it, Mate. Otherwise she'll _massacre us_. Ooh, how scary."

"Guys, I'm getting tired of your nonsense, too."

"Thank you, Remus." I nodded my agreement. He nodded back.

"Now shut yer sarding traps and go to sleep." James huffed at my taking away of his fun like a deranged man taking candy from a baby. Of course, that metaphor is impossible. I am most definitely _not _a deranged man. And I am nothing like one.

"Fine." After about thirty seconds, the boys were giggling.

"Unless you want me to use Sectumsempra on you again, you'll stop talking." Snape was still scowling from his corner.

"Shut up, Snivellus." Sirius said.

"By the way, Sn-Snape, how did Dumbledore punish you?"

"That's not any of your business."

"Um, considering that the reason you got in trouble was for slicing my good friend, James, open, I think it is quite reasonable to say that it is his business." Sirius said. I was in shock at his vocabulary use.

"I got the same punishment that any other student would get if they did something like that: detentions and points taken away from their House."

"What did you have to do at your detentions? Who did you have them with?"

"Everyone please shut up and leave Snape alone."

"Sorry, Lily, Remus, Pete, and random fifth year."

"It's okay, Padfoot, just shut the hell up." Remus was getting upset as well.

The next morning Madame Delancey let us leave. She said we would be excused from being late. We still had to go back to our dorms and get dressed before grabbing something to eat. So we did exactly that.

"Open your books to page 780. You will investigate the easiest and hardest ways to transfigure a newt into something else. If you read the chapter and use your wand properly, you should have no trouble at all." I dutifully opened my book to the aforementioned page and started to read. James and Sirius, who were seated behind me, went straight to the back of the book to the glossary and started shouting out random spells at their newt.

"Oh, here we go." I said to Jeanne.

"Where?" I pointed to the list of spells written on the next page.

"Okay. You can go first." I then proceeded to use various spells on my newt. I succeeded half the time. Now it was Jeanne's turn. Again, she succeeded half the time. Only, she succeeded where I failed and I succeeded where she failed.

"Class is over for now. You must write a two foot essay on what you determined today. Miss Evans, Mr. Black, Mr. Potter, Mr. Lupin, and Mr. Snape, please stay to get the work you missed." Unfortunately for Peter, he failed his Transfiguration OWL last year and had to take last year's course over again, with all the other flunkies. Everyone left except for the five of us- we went and got our work before heading to Charms. We had quite a bit of reading to do for Transfiguration as well as quite a bit of practicing on our own. Wouldn't this be fun?

_Prepare for random leap into the future….How do I time travel? I'm just that awesome. :)_

I couldn't get the spell. I just couldn't get it. I said the spell right and did the whole 'swish and flick' and everything and it still wasn't working. I had been having a bad day all day and it hadn't gotten better at the end. I was trying to transfigure a piece of string into a snake. That was this week's assignment. Although why we were given an assignment on the last week of school with NEWTS coming up was beyond me.

"Need some help?" I turned. It was one o'clock in the morning and I thought I was the only one in the common room.

"Remus, you scared me."

"Sorry. Did you need some help?"

"Well, I do… But I really should be getting to bed."

"Why have you become so uneasy around me? You've been avoiding me since last month." Last month I had had a change of heart. I no longer liked James. Just like I had kept telling myself since the holidays, it was only a crush.

"No reason."

"I can see you don't want to talk about it."

"Yeah…. So can you tell me what I'm doing wrong?"

"You're not doing anything wrong."

"So why isn't it working?"

"You're not trying hard enough. It would seem that your mind's not really on the spell."

"Well, then I'll just have to try again tomorrow."

"That's what you _could_ do. Or you can tell me what's on your mind and try again."

"Nice offer, but I don't really think that's the best idea…"

"There you go again, trying to run away."

"Remus, what do you want?"

"I want to tell you that you can tell me anything and I won't judge. I want to tell you that I'll always be here for you, no matter what you decide. I also want to tell you that I miss your company."

"No matter what I decide about what?"

"You and James are practically the perfect couple and you had something. But now you're pretending it doesn't exist. I can tell. You don't act the same around him as you used to."

"Just like I don't act the same way around you as I used to." I said this meekly, looking up through my eyelashes.

"W-what?"

"Remus, I-You're a really nice guy. You're smart, funny, and you have a kind heart."

"What are you saying, Lily?"

"You know very well what I'm saying, Remus. Don't pretend to be oblivious just because you think I belong with James."

"But I don't understand. You used to like James. You know that. You can't suddenly like me…"

"But I do. Remus, I _love_ you." I took a step forward and he one backward.

"Lily, I can't do this. I don't like you that way and I-I have to do my duty to James."

"I don't give a damn about James. I care about _you_, Remus. Please tell me you care about me, too."

"I _do_ care about you, Lily." My face brightened. "As a _friend_."

"But Remus,"

"Lily, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I couldn't help you with your homework. I'm sorry that I just made it worse. Goodnight."

"Remus-"

"Goodnight, Lily. Sweet dreams." He walked up the stairs to his dormitory. I followed suit, sighing and feeling sorry for myself. I shared my feelings with Moaning Myrtle as I had become accustomed. We had forged a friendship in the last few months as I discovered I couldn't go to any of my friends. According to them, I belonged with James. According to Myrtle, I belonged with whoever made me happy. That's what she wanted for herself, and so, that's what she wanted for me.

**Please give feedback and I apologize in advance for the huge leap in time at the end. I promise that it doesn't end with sixth year, so keep a look out:)**


	12. Epiphany: Sudden Realization of Truth

**Hope you guys like it and I'm sorry for the angst.**

**P.S. The plotline is MINE!!! So don't steal it. However, the characters aren't, so you can do whatever you want with them as long as you credit J.K. Rowling.**

"Hey, Remus."

"Oh, hey, Lily." He turned back to his book.

"Remus, I'm not going to force myself on you. You don't need to ignore me."

"But that won't change anything. You'll still like me."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, it's just…. You may like me now, but if you knew my secret, you wouldn't feel that way anymore."

"I'm sure you're wrong."

"You don't know that."

"And I _won't_ know unless I know your secret."

"Lily, I'm not trying to get you to stop liking me, I just don't want to hurt you. I care about you. You're like my little sister." He didn't know how much those words stung. Or maybe he did….

"Remus, please cheer up. I'll leave you alone." I reached up and touched his cheek, fingering a scar there. I turned to leave.

"That's not what I want." He grabbed my arm before I was just out of reach. He pulled me to him.

"First you tell me that you don't want me, and now you're saying you don't want me to go. What's going through your head?"

"I never said I didn't want you. I said I didn't have feelings for you. I don't want you to go, though. I want you to stay and spend time with me. As a friend."

"That may be true, but it's not good enough."

"Not good enough? I wonder what you'll say when you know my secret. Then I won't be good enough for you to even look at." I sighed.

"Remus, it can't be that bad of a secret."

"Believe me, it is."

"Then why don't you tell me." My words were sharp as knives. "Then I can be the judge of that. You have no right to tell me how I feel."

"Fine. Let me go get the guys. It's their secret, too."

"Why don't I come with you." It was not a suggestion.

"Fine, come along." He walked about five feet away before he stopped and turned around. "You won't mind coming into our dorm, then, would you?" The boys' dorm? I had only been there once… _with James_. He knew how to get me to think twice. But it wouldn't keep me from proving him wrong.

"No, of course not. Don't be silly." I followed him all the way back to Gryffindor Tower from the library.

James looked up as we entered. He started to grin, but saw the serious expressions on our faces. Sirius, however, was not so quick. He grinned, violet eyes sparkling.

"Moony, my good man! And Evans! So kind of you to visit our humble abode."

"Stop screwing around, Padfoot. Can't you see that something's up?"

"What?" Peter looked up from his reading material. I looked disdainfully at his rather inappropriate magazine.

"Lily wants to know our secret."

"Moony, are you sure?"

"Yes. Maybe it'll open her eyes."

"My eyes are plenty open, Mr. Lupin! I know what I want and how I feel. And you are not to tell me otherwise. Neither of you are." James grimaced, but nodded. He knew how I felt, and I was sorry to be hurting him so much, but I couldn't give him what he wanted.

"Let's get it over with, then. Come on, Pete." Sirius motioned Pete over and we sat in a circle on what was visible of their floor. James took a deep breath.

"In fifth year, Sirius, Pete, and I noticed that Remus was gone every month at the full moon."

"It turns out that Moony is a werewolf." Sirius said this as lightheartedly as he could, all the while watching my expression. I nodded for them to continue.

"So every full moon, we turn into our respective Animagi forms and help him out, since werewolf bites have no effect on animals." Peter piped up. I turned to Remus, a disappointed frown on my face.

"You think this has any effect on me whatsoever? Remus, I don't care _what_ you are. I care about _who_ you are. Even when you're transformed, you're still my Remus."

"That's not true! When I'm a werewolf, no one is safe. Not you, not James, not Sirius, not Peter, not…my parents. I'm a monster. And even if I did like you the way you like me, I could _never_ subject you to that." He stood up, pacing and waving his arms around.

"It's my choice what I subject myself to, Remus. And I want to subject myself to whatever pain your werewolf form will bring to me if it means I can still be with you." I joined him, speaking fiercely.

"Lily, snap out of it! I'm not going to go out with you, so stop trying. Give it up."

"Even if I 'give it up', it won't change the way I feel."

"Lily, I want you to be happy. You won't find happiness with a creature like me."

"Amen to that." Sirius popped up next to us. "Now stop fighting with him, Evans, and ask what our Animagi forms are." I turned and scowled.

"Do you have any sense of emotion, Sirius?" I faced Remus again. "You are a foolish person, Remus John Lupin." I left their dormitory. Why did boys have to be so….so….._stupid_?"

I sat in the Prefect Common Room, ruminating over what I had just learned about Remus. Actually, the werewolf thing didn't bother me. Why was Remus so thickheaded? Why couldn't he see how I felt? Why couldn't he see that those feelings would never change no matter what? Why did he think I belonged with James? James was an immature boy who sulked if he didn't get what he wanted. Well, that's the James that stuck out in my memory the most. The James I knew for five years straight. It's true that he changed this year, but he still held onto a dream that wouldn't come true. He still loved someone who would never love him back.

Suddenly, I knew how Remus felt. Suddenly, I could empathize with James. What I had been doing to Remus was the same thing James had done to me. I wouldn't do that to him anymore. I would stop pestering him without his asking, something James was unable to do for me. But at the same time, I didn't want to let go. I didn't want to give up on Remus. Again, I understood how James felt…and was still feeling. I shook my head at my stupidity. How cruel I was to James. How cruel I still am, forcing my love onto Remus. For the sake of them both, I would try to leave my love for Remus behind and try to let a new love bloom. A love for James.

**Sorry for the shortness of the chapter, but it had a lot of content and it was just too great a place to end this chapter. Please share your thoughts with the author (me) and share your enthusiasm with others (like your friends), since all of my reviews so far have been AMAZING. And a much belated thank you to all the wonderful people who pressed that purple button and did, in fact, review.**

**P.S. Sorry again for the shortness of this chapter and sorry for the lengthiness of this note-thing.**


	13. School's Out

**Hey, please enjoy. And thanks to everyone who reviewed the past 12 chapters. But before I can let you go…. I only own the plot line and the characters of my own creation. J.K. Rowling is credited with the characters from her magical world. And, of course, the magical world itself. :)**

Monday morning dawned. I got up and trudged through the motions of getting ready. I headed downstairs and took a seat at the Gryffindor table, farther away from the Marauders than I had been accustomed.

"Oi, Evans. What are you? Hiding from us?" I looked up at Sirius.

"No, I just don't feel like sitting with you guys today."

"Is this about Moony's secret?" He looked disappointed.

"No! Not at all. I just, I thought some things over after I heard. I decided I wasn't going to force my love on Remus. Because…because that's what James did to me the last five years, and I know I didn't like it. So I could assume that Remus feels the same way."

"Oh. That's a stupid reason for not sitting with us. Just act like you used to act around Moony. He won't mind. Neither will Prongs."

"No, I imagine James won't be upset that I'm no longer telling Remus that I like him."

"You're right about that. Now come on." He walked me down to where James, Peter, and Remus were sitting.

"Morning, Lily." Peter said.

"Hello, Peter." I nodded to James. "Hi, Remus."

"Lily." He acknowledged me.

"So, are you guys excited for summer?" It was our last day as sixth years at Hogwarts.

"You bet." Sirius grinned lopsidedly, that nearly irresistible sparkle in his violet eyes. I laughed.

"What about you, Pete?"

"Yeah, it's too bad that my mum's sick, though…"

"She is? That's too bad."

"Ah, Pete'll be fine. We just need to make sure he gets out of the house every now and then." Sirius and Peter were really the only two acting at all normal.

"And you, Remus?"

"I'm going to live with my aunt over the summer. My parents are….aren't at home." I could see he was uncomfortable about the subject. Hadn't he said something about his parent's when he shared his secret……..?

"Oh. And you, James?"

"Home, as usual. Only this year, Sirius is staying with me."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I've had it with my psychotic mother." Sirius grinned his lopsided grin. But the sparkle in them had died.

"Well, at least you'll have fun with James. I'm going home too." I said this regretfully.

"What's wrong with going home, Lils?" Sirius looked concerned.

"It's nothing. It's just that my parents are going on a second honeymoon. I have to stay home with Petunia and," I shuddered. "Her boyfriend, Vernon."

"Isn't he that huge cow you were telling me about a month ago?" I sighed.

"The very same."

"Well if he does anything to you, tell us." Remus added to the conversation.

"Yeah, Prongs and I'll take care of him." Sirius jumped in, slinging an arm around James' shoulders. I giggled.

"Thanks guys." I looked over at James. "Why so glum, James? It's the last day of school and you get to spend three months goofing around with Sirius."

"Ah, it's nothing. He'll turn 'round."

"Okay….." I wasn't so sure. I felt like a fool for not thinking what my obvious love for Remus would do to him. I had hurt James more than he could say.

The train ride home was, again, somewhat uncomfortable. James was still glum and Remus was extremely cold. Sirius tried to make me feel better and tried to take my mind off of James and Remus. It helped, but only a little. It wasn't everyday that half of the Marauders weren't acting like themselves. After about an hour, I had had it.

"James Potter. You need to wipe that frown off your face and _smile_. Remus, you need to stop trying to save me from whatever it is you think is so dangerous about you. I'm perfectly capable of doing that myself. And if the both of you haven't noticed, I've completely backed off of our furry friend, here." James didn't react, except that his eyes widened ever so slightly. Remus grunted disapproval and turned back to his book. Sirius shot me a look of sympathy. In that moment, he reminded me so much of a lost little puppy dog. That was when I had my epiphany. Yes two epiphanies in one week, it's amazing.

"Sirius, you're Animagus form-you're a dog." He grinned.

"Took you long enough." I rolled my eyes. I thought for a moment.

"Wormtail…..Peter, you're a…. You're a rat!" I was becoming strangely giddy.

"Yep."

"And Moony is obviously because of the whole werewolf thing… but Prongs…" I thought for a few moments.

"James, you're a stag."

"You're the first one to get it right on the first try, Evans."

"Whoah. Evans? What's with the last name? I thought we were friends." He just turned to look out the window. I had had enough.

"Fine. If the both of you want to act like children, go ahead. But I'm not subjecting myself to your cruelty any longer. Good bye." I grabbed my trunk off the rack and turned around once I reached the door.

"Have a nice summer, you two." I said this coldly, feeling my voice become warmer as I bade farewell to Sirius and Peter.

"Don't forget to owl us!" Sirius called as I left.

"I won't." I found an empty compartment and stayed there for the rest of the train ride, mulling things over. Why did they have to be such gits?

_You have been cordially invited to the Potter's Summer Ball. There shall be dining and dance. Please send an owl within a week to inform us of your coming._

_Sincerely, Mr. and Mrs. Potter_

P.S. Lily, please come. The whole gang will be there. –James

P.P.S. I'm sorry.

I stared at the gold embossed invitation for what must have been five minutes. Wow. I was invited to a ball. Not just any ball: a ball at James Potter's house. Of course I would go. But I wouldn't reply right away. That would make me look too eager. And I was plenty eager. For a ball. James didn't necessarily have to fit into that picture…. But he did. So I would wait to reply after a few days. But first: I needed a gown. Suddenly, alarms went off in my head. _I had nothing to wear. I had nothing to buy something to wear with._ I couldn't go to the ball. No, no, no. And Petunia's fashion sense was ridiculous. And Mom got rid of all her old clothes after having kids…. What could I do? I picked up a pen and parchment. I scribbled a quick note and sent it off with my small, but amazingly cute, owl, Teddy.

**Who is she writing to? What will happen? The world may never know…. Okay, you'll find out in the next chapter. But you won't be able to read the next chapter unless I get reviews from new people. Okay, you probably will, but that's not the point. Just review, all right?**


	14. Preparations for the Ball

**Hope you like it, and you know all the stuff about what belongs to whom. In case you forget, I own the plotline and the characters that popped out of my head. J.K.R. owns all the stuff that popped out of her head and into the pages of the Harry Potter books.**

**And now for the answer to my previous questions after the last chapter…**

So we were all wondering who Lily was writing too at the end of last chapter. And now she'll meet her fairy godmother of sorts.

Oh my gosh! Jeanne, you'll never believe this: I'm invited to James Potter's house for their Summer Ball. **Me!** I want to go, because I mean, **A BALL!** But I have nothing to wear. What should I do?

-Lily

_Lily, calm down. You'll figure something out…. You know, my grandmother had this gown when she was young. I bet it'll fit you. Although, it IS really old, so we'll have to fix it up a little…. Owl me back. We'll arrange a time when you can floo over here._

_-Jeanne_

_P.S. __**Sure**__ you only want to go because it's a ball. _

Ha ha. Very funny. Honestly, I can come over any time. That is…as soon as I get floo powder. I _am_ a muggle-born, after all. Should I buy some stuff to help with the gown?

-A somewhat frustrated Lily

_Okay. Here's a bit of floo powder. Come over Thursday. And sure, buy all the stuff you want._

_-Jeanne_

P.S. BRING SCISSORS

I went out that afternoon and bought a cute little sewing kit, complete with scissors.

Two days later, I used the floo powder Jeanne sent and flooed myself to her place. I stepped out of the fireplace, coughing slightly.

"Lily!!!" Jeanne came running in.

"Hey, Jeanne."

"You picked about the best time ever to get here."

"Why is that?" Jeanne glanced around.

"…No reason. Let's go upstairs. I dug the gown out of an old trunk in the attic." I followed her up the stairs all the way to the surprisingly roomy attic. My breath hitched as my eyes came to rest on the mannequin in the center of the room, covered by a very ruffly, golden gown.

"It's beautiful."

"But definitely not this century. We've got to fix it up."

"It's a good thing Theresa's not here. She'd turn it into a party dress."

"Hah. Yeah, she would."

"Okay, let's get started. I pulled out the sewing kit from my bag."

"Sweet." Jeanne commented when she saw it. We got to work and a few hours later ended up with a strapless gown embroidered with curls and twists-and possibly flowers, too- in the same color thread that made up the fabric of the gown. Of course, the embroidery was already there… But we got rid of the frilly bows and ruffles. All except a small line of scrunched up golden lace around the waist. I don't think I touched the sewing kit except for the seam ripper…

"WOW." Was all I could say.

"That's exactly what James will say when he sees you in it." Jeanne smirked as I glared. When had she gotten so…not quiet? Oh, yeah. She'd been spending more time with me…. "Now," she said, "We need to make sure it fits right. Go on, get in it." She left the room, chuckling quietly to herself. And what an evil chuckle it was….

"Wait. Why exactly did I 'pick the best time ever to get here'?"

"Oh, that…." We had finished fitting the gown and were now walking down the steps. I was encumbered with a rather large box containing the dress. I would have to go out and buy some accessories….. well, shoes and a purse anyway….I could 'borrow' some of my mother's jewelry…

"Well?" I said when it seemed I might not get an answer.

"Well…. My family also got invited to the ball. And my parents are actually kind of friends with James' parents… and they kind of…came here….for lunch." (a/n: Lily got there around noon, now it's three and the Potters are chilling in the living room)

"What?!" I turned to face Jeanne. We were standing in the middle of the foyer, between the dining and living room. And who else decided to look up just then but James Potter.

"Lily?"

"James…."

**Hope you liked it! Please review. Oh, I'm forgetting something….. Oh, right. About the cliffhanger: MWAHAHAHAHA! Sorry if I'm disturbing anyone with either the cliffhanger or my……what to call it? ….Maniacal cackle. That's the one. XD**

**P.S. Sorry it's a little short…**


	15. Plans and Interviews

**Hope you like it. Just don't credit all of this to me; you have to credit the amazing J.K.R. for her influence and the world of Harry Potter. :)**

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I…just….came to spend some time…with Jeanne. What's your excuse?"

"Our parents are friends… and we were talking about the….ball. I suppose you're not going, then. I mean, you haven't RSVPed…."

"No. I mean, I'd like to go. Very much. But as it is, I just spent two hours fixing up Jeanne's grandmother's old dress…. And I don't have any money to pay for shoes…or a purse….or anything."

"But we'll help with that." Jeanne said.

"I could never- I've already imposed enough." I gestured to the large box in my arms.

"Jeanne's right. Lily, you have to go. I'm sure Mom and Dad will be perfectly fine with lending you a little money."

"I couldn't."

"You can and you will. Let me go get them."

"No, you don't have to do that…." But my words were in vain. James disappeared into the living room and returned with a tall, elegant woman with the same jet black hair and hazel eyes as James. His father was built similarly to James with, broad shoulders and a thin, trim figure. He had ruffled brown hair and smiling blue eyes.

"Mom, Dad, this is Lily Evans."

"Not bad, son."

"Oh, James. She's beautiful. You picked wisely." His parents grinned. They were aware of the embarrassment they were causing their only son. I suppressed a very amused giggle. Jeanne reacted similarly.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Potter." I stuck out a hand to have it shaken firmly by each of them.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lily."

"It's a pleasure to meet, you, too." I felt a strange urge to curtsy….

"Well then. We invited Lily to the ball, and she would like to go, but she's got a bit of money trouble." James waited patiently for his parent's answer.

"We'll be happy to pay to get you whatever you need, Dear." James mother was sweet.

"Thank you, but it just doesn't seem right…."

"What isn't right is that you must fret over money. You've still got another year of youthful freedom." I laughed. James' father had the same charm as his son.

"Thank you for your kindness."

"It's nothing." I was presented with a handful –a very _large_ handful- of wizarding coins and a wad of muggle cash.

"Somehow I don't think I'm going to need all of this…." I made to give some of each type of currency back.

"Don't think on it. Go crazy." Mrs. Potter waved it away. "Well, it's time for us to go. Come on, James."

"Yeah, I'll meet you guys back at the house."

"Okay." The married couple shot each other a meaningful look before Disapparating. Jeanne sniggered at the look on James' face. As well as the fact that he was bright red. I felt like sniggering too, but I could understand how he felt, so I didn't.

"Sorry about that," James said, motioning to where his parents had been a minute ago.

"You're the one who's embarrassed." I said, smiling kindly. "And thank you." I hugged him. I hadn't hugged him in a long time. I had forgotten his lovely scent and the feeling of his hard muscles. I let go and watched him Disapparate away. When he was gone, Jeanne and I couldn't help squealing happily. But then we had to stop because her parents wandered in, wondering what the fuss was about. After that, I was invited to dinner. What was up with these parents? Were they always this awesome?

So the next day, I went shopping……. I won't bore you with all the details. I'll just say that I only spent a third of the money I was given on shoes and a purse. I spent a little more on a beautiful necklace and earring set. After that, I wrote to James, telling him that I would certainly be coming to the ball and that I was indebted to him and his parents.

Lily, glad to hear that you'll come. And stop thanking us! We don't mind. Just show up next weekend looking amazing and all will be forgiven. (I hope you can see my grin)

-James

Yes, I could definitely see that James was grinning. For I knew that I had already 'been forgiven' for borrowing the money. The question was: could I pay them back? I decided then and there that I should get a job so I would be able to. So I Apparated to Diagon Alley and started looking around for HELP WANTED signs. There was one at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, but I wouldn't even think about that. I mean, being around ice cream all day and having an employee discount? I wouldn't be able to fit into my gown. The other shop begging for employees was Ollivander's Wands. I headed down the street to the shop. If my job was going to include explosions, I'd rather them be caused by first years trying to handle a wand, not my waistline getting twice as large. I walked into the shop; Mr. Ollivander turned around and saw me. He was a middle-aged man, perhaps in his forties, with dirty blond hair and clear, almost frightening, blue eyes.

"Hi. My name is Lily Evans. I saw your Help Wanted sign and thought I'd apply. I'm sorry; I don't have an appointment or anything…."

"Quite all right. You're the only one who came around interested in the job. They're all scrambling to get a job at Florean's." I laughed. "So, Miss Evans, what age are you?"

"Sixteen. I'll be seventeen in December."

"So you are still at Hogwarts?"

"Yes."

"And you still have the 'proper way of waving your wand' being drilled into your head?" I giggled.

"Yes."

"Excellent. And you are familiar with the materials involved in building wands?"

"Somewhat."

"Quite all right. You will get training while working. And you are good with children?"

"I'd like to think so. I haven't had any younger siblings, but I'm a Prefect. The first years don't seem _too_ afraid of me…"

"Good, good. I think, My Dear, that you are hired."

"Thank you so much, Mr. Ollivander."

"Don't mention it. But before you go, you'll get paid three galleons and ten sickles at the end of every week during the summer. You'll work……five hours a day. And perhaps longer once students get their supply lists."

"Yes, Sir, thank you, Sir." I left the shop and headed down to the ice cream parlor to treat myself to a small- a _very_ small- ice cream. From my table outside I could see Mr. Ollivander taking down his plea for assistance. I laughed quietly to myself for no reason at all.

"Hello?" Petunia answered the telephone. "One minute."

"Hey, Freak."

"What?" Who would be calling me?

"Do you know how long Mother and Father are going to be away? They haven't paid this month's taxes." Oh, never mind.

"August 25th."

"August 25th," she said into the phone. Well, so much for being polite. She hung up and went back to cooking dinner. Her skills were far from perfected, but it would be edible enough. The phone rang again.

"Freak, get the phone." Her hands were covered in meat juice.

"Evans residence," I said.

"Yes, is Petunia there?"

"One moment. Petunia, it's for you." She sighed in frustration.

"Tell them I'm busy and they'll have to wait or tell you."

"She's busy, so you can wait for her to finish up or you can leave a message."

"Just tell her that she still owes us three hundred pounds for her wedding dress." I had forgotten that she was engaged to Vernon.

"Okay. Goodnight. They said you owe them three hundred pounds for your wedding dress."

"Oh, well, Vernon can pay for it later." I rolled my eyes as she dismissed the matter airily. In a half hour, dinner was ready and she served us. I shall repeat that it was somewhat edible. The phone rang again.

"Why are so many people calling?" She went over and picked it up. "Hello?" After a short pause, she said, "Freak. It's for you. Don't take too long." Not that she talks to Vernon for hours on end…. And who would be calling me? I took the phone.

"Hello?"

**Who will the mystery caller be? Please review and give an opinion, because I have no idea who it should be. Please, give ideas and I will be happy. And you'll see the next chapter sooner:)**


	16. An Unexpected Trip

**Hope you like it! And I own the plot line, Jeanne, and the characters' personalities (somewhat). J.K.R. has dibs on everything else. Enjoy:)**

"Hello?"

"Lily? It's Sirius."

"Sirius Black using a phone?"

"Yeah. Weird, I know."

"So why'd you call? You could have owled me."

"I'm not going to the ball, I'm going on…a trip. I don't know if I'll come back. But in case I don't, I wanted to tell you-"

"Where are you going? Why mightn't you return?"

"I can't tell you."

"Fine. Be evasive. Get me worried. What were you trying to tell me before?"

"I wanted to tell you that in case I don't come back, I love you no matter what." I choked.

"What?"

"I. Love. You. No. Matter. What."

"I heard that, but what? You…love me?"

"For the third time yes, I love you."

"Like, love me love me? Like want to go out with me love me?"

"That's four, Lily. Yes."

"Wow." I leaned against a bit of counter.

"I gotta go," he said hurriedly.

"Oka-" But he had already hung up. It took me a few minutes for it all to sink in. He liked me? He _loved_ me? When did this happen? How did this happen? Thoughts whirled around in my head so fast it hurt. Sirius Black was going away and might never come back. What's more, he said he loved me. What was happening? I shook my head to clear it, but it didn't do anything to help. Where were these emotions coming from? Why were they directed at me? Augh. I realized that the phone was still in my hand and the dial tone buzzed. I hung it up and went upstairs. I sat on my bed, banging my head against the wall, trying to make sense of everything. I liked Remus but was trying to learn to love James. Sirius liked me and was going to put himself in danger somehow. Did James know? Did Remus know? Did Peter know? I sighed in frustration, confusion, disappointment, worry, and sadness. I took up quill and parchment, scribbling three identical notes and sending them to three different people.

_Where is Sirius going? He says he might not come back. Do you know anything? Please tell me. – Lily_

I sent Teddy to give them to James, Remus, and Peter. The next half hour was a blur of anguished waiting. Finally, Remus wrote back.

I didn't know he was going anywhere. But if he's getting himself into trouble, I'll help anyway I can. Take a few deep breaths. He told you, didn't he? About his…feelings. –Remus

_You think? _(a/n: sarcasm by the way) _What should I do? Where could he be going? I'm worried about him. And also wondering why he likes me….. –Lily_

I had thought so. Just try to calm down and think about something else. Something entirely different. I'm worried about him too, but we need clear, calm minds to figure out what's going on. Have you heard anything from James? –R

**Sirius leaving? What? And in danger? I don't know anything, sorry. –Peter**

**He didn't tell me anything, Lils. I'm concerned, too. He's nowhere to be found in the house. Meet me at my house. Pass the word on to the rest of the guys. King's got a broken wing. –James**

_Remus- James says to meet him at his house. We'll discuss it there. Ugh! Why would Sirius do something like this?! –L_

Got it. See you there.- R

_Peter, go to James' house. We'll discuss and figure things out there. Something could be terribly wrong. –Lily_

**Okay. I'll be there soon. –Peter**

_Kay, I told them to get over there. We're all going. See you in a bit. –L_

I sighed. What had Sirius gotten himself into? No time to think about it now. I Apparated to the Potter's house. I practically ran to the front door only to have it opened just as I raised my hand to knock. James was pale and worried-looking. Peter looked slightly green and Remus was equally pale as James with a furrowed brow.

"Sorry I'm late."

"That's not what matters. Where could Padfoot have gone? Where would he need to go?"

"Maybe he's trying to be mysterious," Peter suggested, fidgeting. I looked at him quizzically.

"Sure, Pete……." He squirmed. Something not quite right about him…

"It could have something to do with You Know Who." Remus voiced the thoughts I didn't want to hear or believe.

"But why would he, an almost seventh year, try to see Voldemort? What's he trying to prove?" If this was some kind of stunt, I would kill him.

"I don't know. Maybe it's got to do with his family."

"He was pretty beat up when he came here last summer."

"I hear his brother Regulus is in the wrong crowd."

"Oh, this is horrible! Where could he be?!" Just then, it thundered. The lightning soon followed. The lights went out. I heard a 'pop!' from behind me and turned, lighting my wand. I jumped about a foot in the air when I saw Dumbledore.

"Professor-"

"Now is not the time for questions. All of you grab on." He extended his arm for what I guessed to be Side-Along-Apparition. I felt an odd sensation, similar to regular Apparition, but a bit-okay, a lot- more uncomfortable. Within seconds we were standing in a cold, dark room fashioned of stone and only stone. A figure was crumpled up in the corner with a taller one looming over it.

"Sirius!" It was barely a whisper, but the taller looming one whirled around. Two blood red eyes met mine. I froze.

**Hope you liked it. You can tell me how much you liked it by reviewing. Sorry for the cliffhanger, I just couldn't resist. Plus I need to develop my plot a bit more….and this gives me time to think. :)**


	17. Escaping and a Ball

**Hey. Hope you like it. Hopefully, all of your questions are answered in this chapter.**

**P.S. I only own the plotline, Jeanne, and James' parents. Not that the last two are in this chapter, really…. Hehe.**

"You." The monster hissed.

"Yes, Tom. Me." Dumbledore's voice was strong and sure.

"That's not my name!"

"I believe you'll find it is. The birth records are easily accessible." There was a twinkle in the Headmaster's eye.

"Get out."

"Not without that boy." Voldemort laughed.

"What use is he to you?"

"I could ask you the same question. He will never be loyal to you." He laughed again.

"Loyalty? You think I want loyalty? I want information."

"And how would you get that from a seventeen year old boy who doesn't even live with his parents anymore?" Voldemort's face fell.

"Then you are correct. He is of no use to me. But, before I dispose of this rubbish," he motioned behind him. "Might I inquire as to how you knew where he was and why he came?" The Dark Lord smirked.

"Ah, you see. He had no choice. The safety of his brother was in jeopardy." For a second time, the wretched scumbag's face fell.

"How did you-"

"Yes, how did I know? Well, you see. Young Mr. Black told me. Right before he left for you. How dare you torment a young man while threatening him with the death of an innocent person? Even you aren't that cruel."

"You don't know me!"

"I'm afraid I very much do. It's true that you have changed, but not so much that your previous nature is no longer evident."

"You know nothing," Voldemort sneered.

"I certainly don't know everything, but I would hardly say that I am without any knowledge at all. Now, Mr. Riddle. If you please, the boys. Both of them."

"You will not win so easily."

"A battle won by forfeit is no battle at all. If only things were that easy." Dumbledore shot a spell at the former Tom Riddle without moving, without uttering a single word, and wthout giving away his thoughts. Voldemort flew backwards from where he had advanced towards the party. He crashed into the wall and I raced for Sirius.

"Miss Evans, collect him quickly. Mr. Potter, I believe your assistance will be needed." I was struggling with Sirius' weight. James ran over and took more than half the weight from me. We walked out the door to go find Regulus.

Sirius came to in a few minutes, bone weary and still bleeding. Dumbledore led us to another stone room, where a young boy was just as tattered as Sirius and huddled in the same fashion in the corner. Remus went over and picked him up. Fortunately, Regulus wasn't quite as bad off as Sirius and was able to piggy-back on Remus.

"Okay children, get yourselves to St. Mungos." James and I Disapparated with Sirius, Remus with Regulus, and Peter and Dumbledore by themselves. When we found ourselves in the waiting room, Peter wasn't there.

"Where's Peter?"

"No time to worry about that. We need beds for these two boys." Dumbledore told the woman behind the desk. She took one look, gasped and quickly led us to the nearest room.

"I'll have the best healer available in here."

"Thank you."

Two days later, the boys were slowly recovering. They each had broken bones, bruises, cuts, and Sirius had a concussion. I sat at his bedside, holding his hand. He groaned and mumbled something incoherent. I felt tears coming, but pushed them away.

"Sirius?"

"Unh? Lily?" His eyes fluttered open.

"Sirius!"

"Hello." He grinned.

"Why did you leave without telling anyone but Dumbledore?"

"I had to go it alone. If I brought anyone with me, Reg would have been killed."

"Oh, Sirius."

"Evans, Evans. Calm down. I'm all right."

"No you're not. He gave you a concussion."

"So that's why nothing's coming back to me. I remember getting there. When I saw him, I felt cold."

"It's all over. Regulus is fine. He's doing much better than you. Voldemort went easy on him."

"He would have gone farther. I was so stupid, Lily."

"No you weren't."

"I shouldn't have faced him. Not like that."

"Sirius, it's all right. Now go back to sleep. You're not allowed to feel guilty."

"Always in control, you are. That's why I lo…." He yawned and drifted off to sleep. This time I let the tears come. He had been through such a hard time. I couldn't tell him that I didn't care for him as more than a friend… Why did life have to be so confusing and problematic?

Sirius was released out of the hospital on the day of the Ball. He didn't have a clean break anywhere; there were tiny fissures all along his bones. Well, the parts of bone that weren't smashed into thousands of tiny pieces. It was such a hard job for the healers, just mending the numerous fissures, that he had a cast on his arm and a brace on his leg. He must have been in so much pain. But he ignored his injuries and just smiled. That familiar sparkle in his eyes hadn't left. James, Sirius and I enjoyed each other's company that afternoon. I only left the Potter house to change into my gown before the ball.

I entered with the other guests, so as not to raise questions. I waited just inside the door for Jeanne and her family. Oddly enough, they came in last. I said hello and let them descend the grand staircase first. I took a deep breath and sorted through my thoughts, intent on having a good time. I started down the stairs. I felt like I was walking down the stairs to Hogwarts' Entrance Hall. Everyone looked at me, James was standing at the bottom of the stairs, waiting, trying to keep his mouth from hanging open. I blushed when I realized this. I reached James and giggled at the look on his face.

"Lily, you look… amazing. I was worried you wouldn't be able to top what you wore to the Christmas Dance."

"I have Jeanne to thank for that." It took him a while to realize that I was alone.

"Where's your escort?"

"I don't have one. I'd like to think I don't need one. I am a strong and independent woman."

"Indeed you are. But, to ward off disgusting rumors, perhaps I could serve as your escort." Sirius limped over to where we were standing. James frowned a bit. Another secret Sirius had kept.

"Hello, Sirius."

"I see you're feeling much better Padfoot." James sounded a tad disappointed.

"Now that Evans is here, yes. Very much so." He stopped. "Oh, shit." He realized what he had done. "I'm sorry Mate, I was going to tell you, but then I heard about Reg…"

"It's okay, Pads. I'm gonna go get a drink." I looked at Sirius with a sad look on my face.

"Don't look at me like that! I told him I was sorry. It slipped my mind." He looked ashamed.

"It's okay, Sirius. And thank you for offering to be my escort. But I can't just leave James like that. I'm sorry."

"It's all right. I was foolish to hope you would just come running to me. I just figured that with you staying away from Remus, and James ignoring you… I don't know."

"I understand. Don't beat yourself up over it. You're a great guy. Funny and bright all the time. It's just that I don't think I could ever come to love you as anything more than a friend."

"Now I know how James felt after you ran away during the dance. You're amazing, Lily, smart, funny, clever…"

"Sirius…"

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, Lily. See you." The shine in his eyes had deadened. Why couldn't I make a decision without hurting someone?

"Bye." I said sadly, kissing him on the cheek before I went to go find James.

**Hope you liked it! And as for all of those people who read the story, but don't review: shame on you. :)**


	18. Love's Bonding

**Hope you like it! And please, remember not to credit anything influenced by a certain set of seven books (which not much does in this chapter…) to me. That credit goes to J.K.R. Everything else you would like to compliment (or trash, that's okay, too), of course, goes to me. XD**

James was no longer in the ballroom. I did, however, spot Remus over in a corner. Maybe he would know where he went.

"Remus, did you see where James has gotten to?"

"No, Sorry." I started to walk off. "And Lily? Thanks…for not caring about my…condition." I smiled.

"No problem. But it's really not that big of a deal. People like you for who you are." I walked off, leaving him with a grim smile playing on his lips. I found James sitting outside, on one of the many patios. He was staring out at the back yard, which looked more like a vivid mountain scene than a back yard. In his right hand he held a bottle of Butterbeer; the other was in his pocket. A light breeze whipped through his hair.

"Hey you." He spun around, his disappointed frown replaced with one of confusion.

"Wha-? Oh, it's you." He turned back around, his expression darkening..

"James, what are you doing out here?"

"Sulking. What's it look like I'm doing?"

"I meant, why are you out here, when the party is inside?"

"I don't know. Protecting myself from seeing my best mate hit on the one girl he knows I'd do anything for."

"Really, and who might that be?" I smiled, sitting on the railing next to him.

"_Ha ha_. Very funny. Like you don't know."

"No, I don't. Maybe you can show me." I was acting insane, but when I saw how distressed he was, something inside me snapped. It was like opening a bottle of very bubbly champagne. But instead of bubbles, there were little pink hearts, a sunny meadow, and for some strange reason, a white picket fence.

"Excuse me?" James was just as startled as I was when I realized exactly what I had just said.

"You know what I said, Mr. Potter." I hopped off the railing and walked back into the center of the patio, just a few feet behind him. He followed, spinning around to face me.

"I'm not quite sure I heard you correctly, though. One would have thought Lily Evans was flirting with me."

"Perhaps she was." I walked up to him, running a hand over the lapel of his suit, letting it rest in the middle of his chest.

"Might I ask why?"

"Considering you didn't answer _my_ question, no." I smiled a little.

"If that's how you're going to be…"

"What do you have in mind?"

"Many things. But I don't think they're very appropriate…" I laughed.

"As I'm sure they're not. Now, are you going to stay out here and mope some more, or are you going to come inside and treat me to a dance? I do believe you're my escort. It's only right and proper."

"Wouldn't you rather dance with Sirius? I mean, if he wasn't all braced and casted."

"No. I'd dance with you any time, though."

"Really now? Then I suppose I shouldn't disregard your only request for the evening."

"I suppose not." We walked back into the ballroom to find Sirius chatting up a blonde, Remus making polite conversation with Jeanne, and Peter trying to get a big bosomed brunette in her twenties to talk to him while stuffing food in his mouth. What was wrong with that boy?

"May I have this dance, fair maiden?" James turned to face me and bowed, offering his hand. I took it.

"Well, how gracious of you, kind sir." We stepped into the middle of the ballroom just as a new song started up. He placed a hand on my waist, and took one of my hands in his. I placed my free hand on his shoulder. As the song progressed, he started to spin me more often, as well as going to the point of picking me up and twirling me around his head. Although the other couples had been doing the same, I didn't think he would. As the song ended, the other guests stepped off, but in the dying notes, James spun me out once more and back in, dipping me over his arm. There was, suspiciously, a spotlight trained on us. He lent down and kissed me cautiously. He pulled away as he stood, brining me with him. He led me back onto the patio where we were previously situated. We stood side by side at the railing, James resting his elbows on it. He looked up at me in a somewhat accusatory manner.

"I thought you said you couldn't dance back at Christmas?"

"I did. And, as I told you then and will tell you now, I'd never tried."

"For someone who's never learned how to ballroom dance, you exhibited a lot of talent. That's not usually evident unless you've been practicing for a while."

"Well, I guess I'm not the usual am I? For I assure you, James, I have only danced like that with you at the dance and just now."

"Of course you're not usual. I wouldn't have fallen for you if you were." He grinned. "How come you're not yelling at me for kissing you in front of all those people?"

"I rather enjoyed it, that's why."

"Enough to try again?" I smiled coyly, looking at him sideways as I responded.

"Perhaps." I turned toward him and he towards me. My arms snaked around his neck and into his hair. Our lips pressed together and he pulled me closer to him, arms around my waist. It was a passionate kiss, filled with fire and, obviously, passion. I leant back from him and looked into his eyes. I smiled. He did too. He leant in and gave me one last, sweet kiss before taking my hand and leading me back inside. I knew I was blushing like mad, but it was nothing compared to when we stepped through the threshold and heard thousands upon thousands of wolf whistles. Remus was grinning with James' parents and Jeanne. Sirius tried to grin, but it ended up looking more like a grimace. When I saw him, my smile faded and I sighed. He turned and disappeared into the crowd. I looked up at James to see if he'd noticed. Sure enough, he had, but was pretending he hadn't.

"Oh, James! That was wonderful. And Lily, you looked beautiful out there! Congratulations!" James' mother positively bubbled.

"Great job, son. Miss Evans." His father nodded and left with Mrs. Potter. James' cheeks were slowly turning red along with the tips of his ears. I giggled.

"Nice dance, you two." Remus said. He looked around. "Hmm. Wonder where Sirius went…" I sighed again.

"He's probably hiding. You obviously don't know…"

"Know what?"

"It seems I'm not the only one in love with this young lady." James put in.

"Sirius loves Lily? No!"

"Yes, sadly. I tried to tell him nicely, but…" I sighed.

"He should have known. That he would go and force that on you when he knew you were trying to find the path you were on before… He is so selfish. I'm going to go talk to him." Remus stalked off in search of the moping Sirius. I looked at James. A frown creased his forehead.

"James…"

"No, I'm all right. Let's enjoy the night, shall we?"

"Yes, let's." We spent the rest of the evening dancing, besides for dinner, of course. Although I had a great time, I couldn't help but feel a bit guilty and worried about Sirius. Thoughts came and went in the back of my mind. I could tell that James was being subjected to the same fate by his conscience. At midnight, Sirius walked in with Remus with a somewhat happier countenance. I smiled and walked over to him with James in tow.

"You're feeling better, I see."

"You have no idea." Sirius grinned. "Sorry, mate. I should have watched my mouth."

"It's all right, Padfoot. I shouldn't have gotten upset." They hugged like brothers. Which they were, in spirit. And all was right with the world…

**Hope you liked it! Please review. Tell me if you think I should continue or stop it there and start another story. Any and all feedback is requested and much appreciated:)**


	19. A Date!

**Hey, sorry it's been longer than it normally takes for me to update…. Hope you like it!**

**P.S. As you know, I only own the plot line and the characters I made. J.K.R. owns everything else.**

Before I left for the night, James walked me to the door and bowed.

"James, you don't have to bow to me. We're not in the Middle Ages." He grinned and bent down on one knee. I was a bit confused by this.

"Would the lovely Miss Evans, whose hair shines brighter than the sun and whose eyes sparkle like the radiant emeralds they are, honor me, the lowly James Potter, with a date?"

"Why yes, I do believe I shall, for you are anything but lowly." He rose and kissed me lightly, a gentle smile on his face. Triumphant and a tad snobbish, but gentle.

"I'll be around tomorrow night to pick you up." I hugged him one last time before waving to the rest of the Marauders and Disapparating. I almost didn't want to leave.

The next morning, I owled Jeanne. I told her that James had asked me on a date and that the date was today. I also might have mentioned the fact that I had nothing to wear and was in desperate need of outfit ideas, but that's besides the point.

_Lily, relax. I'm glad to hear that you and James are moving along unhindered. Since you don't know where you're going, dress nicely, but at the same time be able to __walk__ and blend in with others around you, just in case you're NOT going to a fancy restaurant. Maybe a nice pair of dress pants…or a skirt, it doesn't matter… and a blouse. Make it a really nice blouse. Hope I helped!-Jeanne_

Great, thank you. That helps a lot. I don't know why I didn't think of that... I guess I'm just really excited.

-Lily

_Of course you're excited and not thinking. You're giddy with LOVE! Mwahaha. Have fun tonight. But you're coming over tomorrow to spill the details!!!_

What happened to you? You're not quiet and passive anymore. Heh heh. I know I'll have fun tonight. Yes, I'll come over tomorrow. Thanks again! –Lily

So I flipped through my closet and pulled out a black skirt that fanned out a bit and stopped just above the knee. I also pulled out every single blouse I had. After much sorting through and making decisions, I had managed to put half of the blouses back. After more sorting and making decisions, I had three blouses to choose from. Yeah, it's a vicious cycle. I finally picked out a white blouse with emerald green swirls. The next stage was jewelry. Well, that wasn't too hard… I chose the silver locket I had received at Christmas from that anonymous person. I would have to wear the necklace James had given me sooner or later….but that could wait. I didn't change or do anything else to get ready, because it was still well before the sun would set. So I hung around doing this and that. Mainly avoiding Petunia, organizing my things for school in September, and reading. I caught up on recent events by reading the issues of the Daily Prophet I had received last week. Things were not good and You-Know-Who was gaining power. I was resigned to accepting that he was going to make a move sooner or later. What would happen, would happen. Eventually, the time came to get ready. So I changed, raked a brush through my hair before tying it up in a pony tail, and closing the clasp on the locket at the back of my neck. I put on a little make up, but nothing that would be noticeable. I grabbed my wand and some money, inserting them into a little black purse. At five o'clock, there was a knock on the door. I answered it, because Petunia was trying to cook dinner. My face fell when it proved to be Vernon. I let him in and went upstairs to stare out the window for James' arrival. I found myself racing down the stairs to meet him a half hour later. I almost tripped in my strappy black heels… whoops.

**Please review… my brain is kind of fried from finals, so bear with me. Sorry it's so short, but it's just to tide you over until my little puppy, 'Inspiration' finds his way home.**


	20. First Date

**Hey. Here we are, the big 2-0. Wow, this story is getting rather long, isn't it? Well, let's hope that the longer it gets, the better it gets. Before I let your eyes loose on my story, I own the plot line, the character interactions, and the characters of my own creation. Anyone/thing mentioned in J.K.R.'s books belong to her.**

"Hi, James!"

"Hi, Lily." I stepped out the door, calling goodbye to Petunia. As expected, I didn't get a response.

"So, where are we going?"

"You know very well it's a surprise."

"Oh, fine." He laughed and held out an arm for me to take.

"Grab on." I did so, and felt the familiar sensation of Apparating. The last time I had endured Side-Along-Apparition…ugh. I didn't even want to think about it. We emerged in the Middle of Diagon Alley, right outside a very elegant-looking restaurant. The letters on the roof read _Chateau Elégant_. As the name suggested, the interior was indeed elegant, despite the fact that it didn't look like a castle.

"It's beautiful. You didn't have to bring me to such an expensive place."

"No, but I wanted to. And it won't hurt the Potter budget, I assure you."

"Well in that case…"

"A table for two?" A waitress approached us, taking two menus out from behind the podium.

"Yes, please," James said. As we followed her to our table, I noticed how James was dressed. He was dressed much nicer than I, but he didn't seem to care about my shabby attire. He was wearing black slacks and a white dress shirt. Okay, maybe it wasn't _that_ much nicer, but it certainly _looked_ nicer. Then again, anything looks good on James. Except maybe a ballerina outfit… but that won't ever happen. We reach our table and as I'm handed my menu, the waitress smiles and winks at James. I scowl. James just shakes his head at my jealousy.

"Don't worry, Lily. I'll not be swayed from my decision. Especially after all these years of trying to gain your approval." I blushed.

"Oh, you!"

"I would say 'oh, me, what', but I think we've already been down that road. So instead I'll ask you what you're interested in ordering."

"I haven't had a chance to look at the menu, dimwit."

"I may be a dimwit, but you still love me."

"Yes, I certainly do. Now may I have the privilege of actually looking at the menu?"

"Certainly." Everything on the menu was very expensive. Well, it was to me, considering my budget. I would say what I chose for dinner, but already there's been so much description, so I'll let it slide. We ordered our drinks and food. The rest of the meal was spent in banter and chewing.

After about an hour, we were finished and the bill had been paid. We wandered the streets of Diagon Alley for a bit. We passed Mr. Ollivander and I waved. I told James that I worked at his shop. He congratulated me, confessing his employment at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor.

"Really? But there were quite a few people trying to get that job."

"I know. Florean had picked someone to hire by the time Padfoot and I got there, so we almost didn't get the job. But he indulged us in an interview anyway and decided that we were better candidates. So now we're both hired." He grinned.

"Well, congrats. Maybe we'll run into each other over the course of the summer."

"Maybe? Of course we will. I'll make sure of it."

"You really do have a big head. But I love you all the same." I kissed his cheek and he put his arm around my shoulders. We walked for a bit more and treated ourselves to some ice cream. James, like the gentleman he his (despite his bigheadedness), offered to pay, but I insisted. He paid far more for dinner and I would pay for a little dessert. With or without his employee discount.

We Apparated back to my house, where Vernon was unfortunately still there. I looked through the window and groaned to see him.

"You'll be all right with him there?"

"Yes. I just don't like him is all. I don't see how Petunia could seriously be preparing to marry him."

"Neither did I. Honestly, you'd think your sister would have better taste. Or at least similar taste to your own."

"We're nothing alike. Remember that."

"It's not hard to miss. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, James. I'll see you soon."

"Just soon? Not tomorrow?"

"No, I've got to go to Jeanne's tomorrow."

"Spilling the details, eh?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to tell her how horrible I was for letting you pay for the dessert?"

"No, I wanted to pay for it. The meal cost you an arm and a leg." He frowned. "It's a figure of speech, James. Now, get on with you! I'll write you tomorrow, you naughty child."

"If I'm a naughty child, what are you?"

"A good, well mannered child. Now get on with you."

"Oh, fine. But does this naughty child get a kiss goodbye?"

"Every time." I pecked him on the cheek and he frowned.

"Just a bit more?"

"Oh, you _are_ naughty."

"Yes I am!" I kissed him once more, but this time, a little over from his cheek, and said goodbye.

"Sweet dreams, Lily."

"Sweet dreams, James. Now get home before Sirius piddles all over the carpet." He laughed.

"And you call me naughty? While you've a dirty, dirty mind?"

"Yes, I am calling you naughty. Your mind is far dirtier. You hang 'round with Sirius too much." He laughed.

"I love you, Evans."

"Well, I bloody hate you, Potter." He feigned offense, cracked a grin and hugged me before Disapparating. James Potter is far too charming for his own good. I sighed and opened the door, going up to my room as quietly as I could. I readied myself for bed and fell into the sweet dreams that James had wished without hesitation.

**Hope you liked it. This chapter is mostly fluff, but I promise there will be a bit more seriousness in the next chapter. Along with Siriusness….and a bit more fluff. :) Please review!**


	21. What Summer Should Be

**This story is now 21 chapters long. It's old enough to drink! It grew up so fast. sniff I'm so proud of it! tear Unfortunately, I must admit that I got the inspiration from J.K. Rowling, so anything you recognize or are able to tie back to the books belong to her. Anything else belongs to me. (It's all mine! Mine! MINE! **_**MINE!!!!**_**) Ahem. Enjoy the chapter. **

The day after my date (my wonderful, wonderful date), I went over to Jeanne's.

"Liiiiiiiiillllllllllyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Is what I was met with as I appeared in her living room. I was nearly bowled over by Jeanne as she ran to me and hugged me as if we hadn't seen each other in forever.

"Hi Jeanne. Why are you so….exuberant? I saw you just two days ago."

"But two days ago I wasn't gripped with suspense. Now I must know every detail of your date. Down to whether or not Mr. Potter used a toothpick." I quirked an eyebrow.

"If you insist. Not that it matters."

"Of course it matters. It's your first _real_ date with James Potter."

"…Whatever you say." After a minimal amount of urging, I launched into the story of my date. I'm fairly certain it took as long as the date itself, for Jeanne stopped me every five seconds to ask questions. When I finished, my eardrums were knocked around by a girly shriek.

"Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!! You and James are finally together!!! I knew it! You are so cute together and you get along so well… I bet you're gonna get married!!!!!" She clapped her hands about a thousand times in rapid succession with a silly grin on her face.

"Let's not get hasty. We've been together for a day."

"No, you've been together for a day and a half." I rolled my eyes.

"Fine. It's been three hours, Jeanne. I should get home. I promised James I'd owl him."

"Oh, fine." She fake-pouted.

"Oh dear, I do fear I've rubbed off on you quite a lot. You were nothing like this in September. You were nowhere near as outspoken or lively."

"Not at Hogwarts, I wasn't. But my parents can tell you differently. I've always been this way. At home."

"Exactly. I brought it out in you at school." I stood from my position on the couch next to her. "Well, bye."

"Bye!" And with that, I Apparated to my house. When I got there, I wrote a letter to James. And one to Sirius, for good measure. After all, I had promised him I'd write when I left their compartment on the train. I thought for a moment. _Oh, what the heck_. And I wrote one to Remus as well. I sent Teddy off and started to read an article in yesterday's Daily Prophet. After a few minutes… or thirty three and 52 seconds, (I admit it; I was waiting for James' reply.) Teddy returned with said reply.

Really? You miss me? It's only been a day. I love you, too Lils. Come over tomorrow, won't you?

-James

Of course I miss you, you naughty child. (Hehe) And of course I'll come over. Sirius didn't _really_ piddle on the carpet last night, did he? That would be far too gruesome…and quite odd.

See you soon,

Lily

Sirius' and Remus' replies came as well. They both said they were doing all right and that they were happy to hear from me. I wrote back (as is polite… plus I could never ignore them!) and resumed my reading of out-of-date newspapers. It sounds fascinating, doesn't it? You should try it sometime. Anyway…. The rest of my day was boring (filled with articles from old newspapers) and I'll be kind enough not to bore you with it.

"There you are, Lily! I'd begun to think you weren't coming." James jugged me as I popped into existence at the Potter Mansion.

"Of course I'm here. I wouldn't miss it. And if I had to, I'd have at least told you."

"Sorry, Love." He pecked me on the lips. It felt so right, being with him.

"I forgive you." I smiled and pecked him back to prove it. He grinned and led me into the living room. I saw Sirius and Remus.

"Hello, Lily."

"Evans!"

"Hey guys." I took a look at Sirius' bright face and shining eyes. "What's got you so happy?"

"Besides seeing you again? Not much. Though I must admit that I have been feeling a lot better since your friend, Jeanne has made my acquaintance." My mouth fell open.

"Jeanne? Why didn't she tell me that you talked to her?"

"Perhaps she's not ready to tell you," Remus interjected.

"Or it just slipped her mind. I'm sure it's much more exciting to hear all about your date with James," Sirius said a tad sullenly.

"When did this happen?"

"After you and James got together at the ball and I stormed off." He blushed and looked down as he said it.

"She went after you? I didn't notice."

"Of course not, you had just found your true love and accepted him." He seemed a bit downcast at the mention of this, but continued on nonetheless. "So I stormed off and she followed. She asked me what was wrong and I told her. She seemed a bit surprised. I guess you hadn't told her everything. But then she gave me her sympathy, though I didn't want it, and said as much."

"That's rude, Sirius."

"I didn't say it rudely. You'd think you'd never met me, Evans. When have I been rude to a girl? It's not wired into my brain in any way, shape, or form. Girls love me," he winked, "and I love girls." I laughed and he grinned.

"Okay, I believe you. Why isn't Peter here?" I asked after looking around.

"He said he was taking care of his mum. Apparently, she got a rare disease that makes it hard to breathe." Remus informed me.

"How horrible."

"But I could have sworn I saw him at Diagon Alley yesterday, filling his pockets with candy instead of antidotes from the apothecary." James said. He kept an impassive face on, but I could tell by his eyes that something about it troubled him.

"He hasn't owled us once. The last time we saw or heard anything from him was at the ball." Sirius said. I could tell that this conversation was depressing them, so I steered it in a new direction.

"Ah well. Nothing we can do about it. When do you get your casts off Sirius?"

"Three days. And then I get a brace instead!" He said this in a mock-happy tone that positively dripped sarcasm. I laughed.

"Well, it's better than being itchy and sweaty all day."

"You've had a cast before, Lily?" James looked at me worriedly.

"Yes, I broke my arm when I was little. I used my magic to fly in the air a bit. I hadn't learned my lesson after I broke it, though."

"That sounds like you: never giving up. You're a persistent one, you are."

"You, James Potter, are far more persistent." Everyone knew that I was referring to the past six years of his fawning and bothering and pleas for my attention. The rest of the day passed comfortably. Nobody mentioned Peter because we all knew it would dampen the mood. His strange behavior was something to think on.

**Hope you liked it! Sorry it took so long to update, but please review anyway:)**


	22. Responsibilities

**Finally, a new chapter has arrived! Hope you like it!**

**P.S. I own the plot and any character not named and/or mentioned in the HP books. Everything else, obviously, belongs to the author of the HP books: J.K. Rowling.**

"James!" He whirled amid the bustling crowd of Diagon Alley and grinned.

"Lils! I thought you didn't work on Fridays…"

"I don't, normally. But the Hogwarts letters are due to arrive any time, so I'm helping Mr. Ollivander restock and reorganize." It had been a moth or so and summer was, unfortunately, almost over.

"Well, I hope you're getting paid overtime."

"Yes, I am. And I'll thank you to not become one of those overprotective, big-brother type boyfriends that makes all my decisions and tells me what to do."

"And I'll thank you to not let me _become_ one of those overprotective, big-brother type boyfriends that makes all your decisions and tells you what to do."

"I think that can be arranged." I said with a smile.

"Good, because here is where I must leave you."

"Ah… so it is." We had reached the door to the wand shop and I gave James a quick kiss goodbye and stepped through after watching him start off to the ice cream shop.

"Ah…. Hello, Miss Evans. Punctual as ever."

"Hello, Mr. Ollivander. Where do we start?"

"I'll start with the eleven inch ones, you start off with the seven inch ones on the other side." Organize them first by wood, then by contents."

"Yes, Sir." I said, giving him a jaunty salute and a smile. The next four hours were spent organizing the thousand or so wands in the shop for sale.

Our Hogwarts letters arrived the next day. All the usual supplies were on the list for classes and I was surprised to see that my NEWT scores were as good as they were. I was sure James would have told me to stop being modest and embrace my intelligence. Everything was pretty routine while I was shopping in Diagon Alley after my elongated shift at Ollivander's. The poor guy had to pay for a new window. I had bought all of the needed supplies and was leaving Flourish and Blotts when I dropped my purse and the Hogwarts envelope tumbled to the ground. A gold and red badge fell out and skittered across the floor. It was pinned to a piece of paper. I picked it up and read the note with a quizzical look on my face.

_Dear Miss Evans,_

_I am happy to inform you that you have been appointed Head Girl of Hogwarts' School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You are a model student, kind, and brave of heart. And a perfect candidate for the position. I think you'll find the Head Boy a close friend and easy to work with._

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

_P.S. I seem to recall your love of Cornish Pixies._

I was still confused as to why I was chosen for Head Girl when there were probably more secure and confident people who were better prepared for stress and twice as much work. I was also confused by his post script. I hated Cornish Pixies. They are so annoying! Whilst I was busy pondering and starting to stress, I wondered who the Head Boy would be. It took me five hours to figure out the Cornish Pixies was the password. I felt so stupid. And I'm not even blonde.

**So…….. how'd you like it? Sorry it took so long to update; I was out of town for a week and then I was swamped with makeup work, if you can imagine that. Oh, and sorry it was so short, too. Please review!**


	23. Motion Sickness and Sandwiches

**Hey, sorry it took so long to update. My brain was malfunctioning and keeping me from writing. But now everything is better, seeing as how there's another chapter up. I own the plot and the character's interactions, as well as the characters not mentioned in the Harry Potter books. Anything mentioned in the Harry Potter books belong to J.K.R. Enjoy!**

I couldn't sleep. The rain pounded on the roof and thunder jarred my ears every two minutes. And someone was chucking stones at the window. Wait. Someone was chucking stones? At the window? Wow, Lily, you're not with it, are you? The only person who would be throwing stones is James. Well, James and Severus Snape, but he should know better than to come around, right? I got up, stumbling across the room to my window. I struggled to open the latch; the last time it had been opened was when I snuck out with…Snape…on my eleventh birthday. My parents threw me a big birthday party, but the only people there were my family. I was kept inside all day and I wasn't able to see Snape. He was my best friend, closely followed by Petunia. I hadn't gotten my Hogwarts letter until a few months later. So that night I snuck out with him and we went to the park to have our own birthday party. But let's move past the flashback, and return to the present. My fingers fumbled with the latch, and finally got it up. I leaned my elbows on the sill and looked down. I was soon hit in the eye with a stone.

"Bloody hell! What was that for?!"

"Holy shit! Sorry, Lily!"

"You'd better be. I'm temporarily blinded. Who's down there?"

"….It's James. Who else would it be?"

"Well, Snape _does_ live around here…. And it wouldn't be the first time he's come around here at night." I thought about my words. "It's nothing like you're thinking. He used to come around when we were little…. And still friends."

"Oh, well then."

"So why are you throwing stones at…." I looked over at my clock, "midnight in the middle of a rainstorm, when I'll see you tomorrow at Ollivander's?"

"It happens in books, and I know how much you love books, so I thought I'd try it out."

"Well, that worked out well, didn't it?"

"Yeah… definitely."

"Hang on a second." I went back inside and threw on a pair of jeans and a jacket. "I'll be right down. We can go to the park." I grabbed an umbrella before I left and sheltered myself and James.

"Sorry again about your eye."

"It'll be fine. But you've got to be daft to not bring an umbrella."

"Um-brel-la?" He cocked his head to the side. I shook mine in amazement.

"You purebloods. I tell you. You have no Muggle sense….or common sense for that matter."

"Nope!" He grinned. We walked to the park in good spirits.

"Hop on," I said, gesturing towards the merry-go-round.

"What is it?"

"A merry-go-round. You've never even been on one? Honestly, James. What did you do as a child?"

"I learned etiquette and dancing." I burst out laughing.

"Really? You had terrible manners at school."

"That was the only time I could escape my mother's wrath."

"Wrath? She seemed nice when I met her."

"Oh, she's nice, but a stickler for manners. Quite irritating, really."

"I can't imagine. You: having to be the perfect little child. It's beyond all comprehension."

"Very funny."

"Yes, I am, rather, aren't I?"

"That's one of the many things I love about you."

"Aww, how sweet." I kissed him as he slung an arm around my shoulders.

"And that's why you love me."

"Yes it is. Now, _hop on_."

"Promise you won't kill me?"

"Why would I kill the best boyfriend in the world?"

"Just checking." He stood in the center of the merry-go-round.

"You… might want to hold on." He grabbed one of the metal bars along the edge and I started to spin it. When it was going fast enough, I hopped on as well. Finally, it slowed to a stop and James practically ran off, reeling like a drunk. I followed, laughing, but pitying him at the same time.

"Don't puke, James."

"I thought you said you weren't going to kill me."

"I didn't think you had such a weak constitution. It was only a little spinning."

"Only a little? We were on there for at least two minutes going twenty miles an hour."

"Don't exaggerate. It was only thirty seconds at twenty miles an hour. The rest was at fifteen." I grinned evilly.

"Oh, sorry. My mistake. Maybe I won't come throw stones at your window in the middle of the night again."

"Good, that way I won't constantly have a black eye. Shall we go back?"

"I think it would be best." He still wobbled a bit as I took his arm and led him back to my house. When we got there, I found the spare key and unlocked the door leading into the kitchen. I pulled out a chair for him and sat him down.

"Thanks, Lils." He said as he adjusted his position in the chair.

"Not a problem. Although, I'm a bit confused as to how the school's best Quidditch player has motion sickness. Do you want a drink?"

"Sure. Water's fine."

"Okay… Want something to eat?"

"I don't want to impose."

"Impose? James, you're my boyfriend. I'm going to force my hospitality on you like you force yours on me when I go over to your house." He laughed.

"I see I have no choice." I made a sandwich and plopped it down on the table in front of him along with a glass of water.

"No, you don't. Eat."

"A sandwich? Lily, that's practically a meal. I couldn't."

"You can and you will. I'll share, if it'll make you feel better."

"It would."

"All right, but I'm warning you: it might make me fat."

"Eating half a sandwich isn't going to make you fat."

"You really are out of it. It should have been obvious that I was _kidding_."

"…Oh. Maybe I _should_ eat something…."

"Maybe? Definitely." I took half of the sandwich and started eating. He did so as well.

"Aren't you going to have something to drink, too?"

"Right." I got up and filled another glass from the tap.

"You look like you're very comfortable in the kitchen."

"Many women are. It's one of our callings. But don't start getting the idea that I'm going to be a housewife. I absolutely refuse."

"Housewife? Who said anything about marriage?"

"Nobody. I just don't want you getting any ideas." I sat back down and took a sip out of my glass, the image of casualness.

"Oh, _all right_…."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing at all…" He took a bite of his sandwich as an excuse to say no more.

"You are a strange person, Mr. Potter."

"As are you, Ms. Evans."

"Don't I know it?"

"I'm sure you do." After a few minutes, we were both finished eating.

"Well, I suppose you'd better get going," I said, standing.

"How do I know I won't start reeling again without you to help me?"

"Because I haven't helped you in the last minute and we're already at the door." I had led him to the door and opened it.

"Sneaky wench." He leaned down to kiss me before stepping outside.

"Yes I am. Goodbye. See you tomorrow."

"Indeed you shall. Sweet dreams."

"Only of you." I grinned, quoting him.

"I hope so."

"Off with you now! We both need sleep."

"Right you are." And he Disapparated with a crack.

**Hope you liked it! Once again, I'm sorry for not updating sooner. But what can you do when you have writer's block? The answer is: nothing. Please review:)**


	24. On the Hogwarts Express

**I can hear you all rejoicing. There's finally a new chapter! Sorry it's been so long. And as for my disclaimer: if you don't know that I'm not J.K.R. and that I don't have rights to what's been published in Harry Potter books, you don't deserve to be literate. :) And with that, this is my last disclaimer. However, I remind you that I **_**do**_** own what happens in the story and the characters I made up.**

It was a glorious day as the sun shone down on King's Cross Station. My parents and I made our way over to a collection of trolleys haphazardly thrust into a corner. My father, who was carrying my trunk, placed it on the nearest trolley. It was soon joined by Teddy's cage as I placed it on top. He chirped, his eyes going wide. I giggle.

"It seems I'm not the only one excited to return to Hogwarts," I told my father.

"Apparently not." He grinned, a sparkle appearing in his eyes. We trudged through the bustling crowd, waiting for a convenient moment to cross the threshold into Platform Nine and ¾. When everyone around us was looking elsewhere, we made our move. We emerged on the other side, a different place from what the Muggles saw. I searched for James, finally spotting him with the rest of the Marauders. I walked over to him.

"Hey, James."

"Lily!" He hugged me and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"James, these are my parents. Mom, Dad, this is James Potter. My boyfriend." I felt a slight blush creep onto my cheeks.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner, Lils?" My mother exclaimed, looking James up and down like he was a lab rat.

"Because you were away all summer."

"Oh, yes, of course." I rolled my eyes and giggled.

"I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, Lils." She hugged me.

"Thanks, Dad." I said as he took the trunk off of the trolley and handed it to me along with teddy's cage.

"No problem, honey. See you at Christmas."

"Yes, Christmas. Bye!" the group and I walked off towards the train to get a suitable compartment. As the train headed out, we took turns sticking our heads out of the window to wave goodbye to various people.

"At least you get to escape your parents' torment after they find out that you have a boyfriend. My parents wouldn't drop it." I laughed at James' complaining.

"I'm sorry." 

"Don't be. They love you." I blushed and looked at my watch. Dumbledore had set up a meeting for the Heads and prefects and I wanted to be down there early to set a good impression.

"Well, Remus, shall we head down to the prefects' compartment?" He looked confused.

"Why?"

"You're Head Boy, aren't you?"

"No, I'm just a prefect. And the meeting's not until one thirty, Lily."

"I know. But if you're not Head Boy, who is?" I looked around the compartment. Peter was sleeping and Sirius was throwing pieces of parchment at his head. James had his hand raised sheepishly.

"Hello, Lily," he said.

"_You're _Head Boy? What a surprise. Although I suppose you are a somewhat decent role model…"

"Somewhat decent? I didn't break the rules all last year."

"Only because you wanted to get a girl. Besides, there's the five year's before that."

"But the thing is: breaking the rules at every available opportunity no longer has its appeal. _You_, however, have more appeal then ever." I blushed again.

"Just because we're dating and we're going to be the only ones in the Head Tower…."

"Lilykins! I wasn't thinking such things! I'm appalled." I laughed.

"Okay, fine. Let's get going."

"Lils, it's only one o'clock. We've got time."

"Fine. Let's gather our thoughts now, then. What activities are we planning to have this year? Is there going to be help for fifth years taking their OWLs? What about prefect meetings and rounds? How often are they going to occur?"

"Okay, Lily. Calm down. Have _you_ thought about all these things or just made a list to torment me?"

"Both." I grinned. "Now let's start over, shall we?"

"Slower this time."

"All right: activities. I think we should have at least one ball, maybe two. And a few pep rallies for Quidditch games. And some parties or dances for minor holidays, like Easter and Halloween."

"I agree whole heartedly." I looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Do you not have any opinions of your own?"

"Of course I do. But you spoke my opinions before I could formulate them." I rolled my eyes.

"Well, then let's move on: OWL and NEWT preparation."

"NEWT preparation? You mean we have to go to silly study sessions too?" Sirius asked, breaking his attack on Peter via parchment.

"Yes." I answered. "It is more important to help the fifth years I should think, that way they have more opportunity to get into any NEWT classes they want to. There should be a weekly meeting in the library, on the same day, as much as possible. We should constantly have them review what they have learned and are learning and help them with what they have trouble with."

"Sounds like a plan, Lils. Is anyone writing this down?"

"I've _been_ writing it down since the beginning, you dimwit." He laughed nervously.

"Oh, right… What's the next topic at hand, something about prefects?"

"Prefect meetings, to be exact. When and how often shall we have them?"

"Why don't we discuss that with the prefects themselves? And as for rounds, we should make sure that the rounds don't interfere with their schedules. Why don't we have them sign up for which rounds they want and for how many weeks?"

"That's a good idea. We'll propose that today. Speaking of the meeting, it's one twenty. We should be going."

"Fine." He hoisted himself off the seat and poked Remus, whispering, "Come on, Moony."

Remus was the only prefect there on time. The other Gryffindor came about five minutes after she was supposed to; the Ravenclaws were ten minutes late. The Hufflepuffs came at two, and the Slytherins came just before the meeting was supposed to end.

"It seems we all need to practice arriving on time. And because you were so late, Bellatrix and Lucius, we'll stay another half hour."

"But in a half hour, the train will arrive in Hogsmead." The Hufflepuff prefect, Gilderoy Lockhart whined.

"That's not my problem. You'll have to take that up with your fellow prefects."

"Watch it, Mudblood. You're not in charge of us." Lucius hissed.

"I think you'll find I am." I pointed to my Head Girl badge. "Now, there shall be another meeting in the Prefect Common Room after dinner tomorrow night. It's a Sunday, so you should have no trouble getting there. The password to the common room and the bathroom, as you should all know, is gillyweed. But for now, we're going to assign rounds. James and I have made up a schedule for this month. There will be at least two of your names in each box. If there are empty spaces, we will assign someone to that space. If you do not show up for your rounds, twenty points will be deducted from your House. There will be no exceptions unless more pressing matters come up for you. In that case, let us know and one of us will take your place. Any questions?"

"How are you going to know if one of us doesn't show up?" asked a Ravenclaw skeptically. I looked over at James.

"We have our ways," He said, a twinkle in his eye. Only he, Remus, and I knew that he was speaking of the Marauder's Map. Bellatrix snorted.

"Everybody sign up." They did, Bellatrix and Lucius signing off on only one or two squares.

"Are you sure about that, Malfoy?" James asked. "You might find yourself doing rounds instead of attending Quidditch practice if you don't sign up for more nights." He scowled and scribbled his name in two more boxes.

"Let's go, Lucius. I can't stand to be in the same room with that foul Mudblood and her boy toy any longer."

"I agree." Malfoy smirked at James as they left. "Might want to watch that one, Potter. Bellatrix has taken a dislike to her."

"As a prefect and Bellatrix's friend, I'll trust you'll keep her in check," James said icily. Malfoy only smirked again and disappeared down the hall.

"They're going to be a handful," I sighed.

"Yes, but we know how to deal with them." James said, hugging me. "Now let's see whose schedule we need to fill." We spent the next ten minutes filling in the schedule.

"We'll have to owl them their times."

"Yes, but that can wait until after dinner. You look like you could use a rest." We returned to the rest of the Marauders and changed into our robes. The train continued on its steady path to Hogwarts, leaving a trail of smoke behind as left my worries behind.

**Hey, hope you liked it. Hopefully there will be a plotline emerging soon. Please review:)**


	25. The First Day Back

**Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it. Sorry for updating so late… again… But Spring Break was busy this year. Anywho, here's the next chapter. And as I said in the last chapter: I'm not writing another disclaimer to owning J.K.R.'s ideas. But I'll remind you that I **_**do**_** own all of **_**my**_** ideas.**

The Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade station and the Marauders and I switched from one mode of transportation to another. We arrived at the doors to the castle. Hogwarts was still as magnificent and imposing as ever. The sight was breathtaking, really.

"Well, here we are: back at good old Hogwarts," Sirius said lightly.

"There's no place like home," Remus sighed happily.

"There certainly isn't," James joined in.

"Let's stop the chit chat and let's get in there." I admonished gently.

"Yeah. The sooner we get the sorting over, the sooner we get to eat." Naturally, Peter was the one to mention food. We entered our second home and took our seats at the Gryffindor table. I noticed Peter glance over to the Slytherin table and catch Lucius' eye. They nodded to each other ever so slightly. My brow furrowed. Peter ran away after we rescued Sirius and now he was cavorting with Malfoy? A small bud of suspicion had started to bloom in my mind. I pushed it aside and turned my mind towards the sorting. Gryffindor had twelve new students, Slytherin had fourteen, Hufflepuff had ten, and Ravenclaw only had seven. More Slytherins than Gryffindors? _'Lord'_ Voldemort's influence was definitely being felt. And sadly, it was being taken all too kindly.

"Vermin," I heard James mutter under his breath to Sirius. Sirius sniggered in response.

"It's a fact of life, Mate," he replied. James sighed.

"I know. But they're more trouble than they're worth."

"Well, you'd better get used to handling it. We're the Heads this year, remember. They're going to turn to us for guidance and help. After the Prefects, of course."

"Sadly, yes. They will," James grumbled.

"What's wrong with children?"

"Nothing, it's just-"

"Exactly. There's nothing wrong with them. We were like them, too, once."

"She has a point, Prongs," Remus said.

"Either way, they're still vermin."



"They can't help that, Mate." Sirius said regretfully.

"Ah well. Why are we complaining about grimy first years when we could be eating?" James changed the subject.

"Peter's got the right idea." Sirius agreed. Peter had indeed started shoveling food into his mouth.

After dinner, a shy first year from Gryffindor approached me.

"A-are you Lily Evans? Head Girl?"

"Yes I am. And who are you?"

"A-Annabelle Richards."

"What is it, Annabelle?"

"T-th' Headmaster w-wanted me t' give you this." She proffered a piece of parchment (with a slightly golden tinge) tied with scarlet ribbon.

"Thank you Annabelle. You'd best be getting up to the common room. You've had a long day."

"Y-yes Miss."

"Call me Lily."

"Lily." She said it as if the word was something new and strange.

"Yes, that's it."

"G-good night…Lily."

"Good night, Annabelle. Congratulations on getting into Gryffindor."

"T-thanks." She ran off to catch up with the other first years, Remus, and the other prefect. I really should have known her name… But that aside, I read the note.

Miss Lily Evans and Mr. James Potter,

I should like you two to meet me in my office at eight o'clock sharp this evening.

I trust by then your meeting with the Prefects will be over by that time.

See you then, sincerely,



Albus Dumbledore

P.S. Snowy Owls are a grand sight, are they not?

"James, we've a meeting with Dumbledore at eight. Help me to remember to keep the Prefect meeting relatively short." I passed him the note.

"Right. Let's get to the Prefect common room then." He pocketed the parchment somehow. (Honestly, the things men can fit into small pockets.) We made our way to the aforementioned location, said gillyweed, and waited for the Prefects to finish depositing the first years in their appropriate common rooms.

"And you'll all get your schedules for rounds tomorrow with the post."

"Great. Now if that's all, I'd like to relax a bit before we have to go to classes tomorrow." Lucius said, still pompous. (Though he was a few hours earlier, so I wasn't surprised).

"You're free to go." I said, dismissing all the prefects.

"But before you do, Malfoy," James said, ice in his voice, "I hope you'll take care to be a model Prefect and not corrupt the minds of Hogwarts' new students."

"I'll do what _any_ Slytherin Prefect would do, I assure you." You can just _smell_ the pomposity, can't you? James frowned, but nodded.

"I'm surprised you didn't start a fight," Remus said after everyone else had left.

"I managed to control myself. It's a new skill."

"I'm proud of you," I said fondly, hugging him and kissing him on the cheek. He hugged me back.

"Thanks, Lils." He looked at his watch. "We'd better get up to Dumbledore's. It's two 'till eight."

"Oh cr-cri...min…ey." I smiled angelically. "We've got to go. See you, Remus."

"Bye guys." He waved as we went our separate ways.

We knocked on Dumbledore's office door at exactly eight o'clock.



"Enter." We did, and I felt the strange urge to curtsy in front of the headmaster sitting in his high-backed chair. Really, it is _quite_ similar to a throne. You'd feel the same way, were it you.

"Good evening, children."

"Hello Professor." I said. James just waved nonchalantly. He had been in this office too many times.

"Nice to you see you again, Mr. Potter."

"It certainly is. What's on our agenda for tonight?" Dumbledore's bright blue eyes silently calculated something from behind his glasses.

"I was wondering if, since Lord Voldemort's power is becoming more apparent, if you two and your friends, as skilled as they are, would join the Order of the Phoenix."

"The Order of the Phoenix?" This organization was news to me.

"I've heard of it. You want us to help fight against… You-Know-Who?"

"Oh for Merlin's sake, James! It's just a name!"

"Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself," Dumbledore agreed.

"Precisely. And if you're to be in the Order of the Phoenix, fighting against Lord Voldemort, you can't be afraid of his name."

"All right, all right." He said, trying to get me to lay off.

"So do I have your loyalty to the Order?"

"You have mine," I said.

"And mine. Shall we pass the word on to everyone else?"

"Your friends? Yes, please do. If they agree to join, bring them with you to my office by the end of next week."

"Will do, Professor," I assured him. We turned to leave.

"And Miss Evans?"

"Yes, Professor?"

"Thank you."

"Thank _you_, Professor. For trusting in us."

"You're very welcome, Miss Evans." We left his office and headed down to the common room. We got started on writing up the schedules for rounds. Fortunately, Sirius, Remus, and 

Jeanne distracted us from the monotony of our work. We talked of our summers and our ambitions for seventh year and beyond.

When we were finished, everyone else headed up to bed. I gave James a quick hug and a kiss before he left for the Head Tower and before I ascended the staircase to the girl's dormitory, Jeanne by my side.

"Beware." Jeanne whispered as we approached the door.

"Am I to be bombarded with questions?"

"Certainly. They still have no idea about you and James." I groaned.

"It's going to be a long night."

"No it won't. We'll keep their curiosity at bay as long as we can."

"Thanks, Jeanne."

"There's no promises they won't have at you tomorrow. Especially since you'll be sitting with him in the morning."

"It's something they'll have to get used to."

"Theresa will have no trouble. In fact, it'll be a field day. Gryffindor's Gossip Queen will make it the biggest news of the year."

"But the year's only just begun."

"Yes, but Lily Evans has gotten together with James Potter after six years. It _is_ the biggest news of the year."

"Joy. I'm a Hogwarts celebrity."

"You've _been_ a Hogwarts celebrity, Lily." I sighed and opened the door to our new dormitory. I was met with "Lilyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!" and a hug.

"Oof. Hi, Theresa. How was your summer?"

"Amazing! But I hear from Jeanne that _you_ have news." I stared at Jeanne, a hint of menace in it. She sniggered.

"I do." At this, Alice looked up from her book.

"Really? Does it have to do with James Potter? I hear he's Head Boy."

"And we all know _you're_ Head Girl." Theresa said, sensing gossip. I rolled my eyes, trying to suppress a blush.

"Yes, he's Head Boy. And it does have to do with James." Theresa squealed excitedly as Alice raised her eyebrows.



"Tell us everything!"

"I will, Miss Gossip Queen," I assured Theresa, "Tomorrow." She frowned.

"Why tomorrow? Why not now?"

"Because the Head Tower's on the other side of the school and we all need sleep," Jeanne cut in.

"Oh…right. Have fun with _James_." Theresa said.

"Yeah, a whole tower to yourselves. Just you… and _James_." Alice agreed. I rolled my eyes.

"Just because we have a whole tower to ourselves doesn't mean we're going to _do_ anything," I said.

"Oh, just ruin the fun, why don't you."

"I shall. Goodnight, girls."

"See you tomorrow, Lily," Jeanne said.

"Yep." I turned and left, heading for what I hoped would be an extremely comfortable bed and the sleep that would follow.

**Did you love it? Hate it? Want to complain about the infrequency of my updates? Please review. Especially if you see any mistakes. I was too eager to post the next chapter for you guys to proofread. :D**


	26. Decisions for the Future

**Here you are: the latest chapter of Key to My Heart. Hope you like it. And remember both my disclaimer and, well, claimer. Sorry it's a little short!**

Well, it was the second day of school of our seventh year. Somehow I managed to wake up early enough to eat a good, somewhat healthy breakfast in the Great Hall with Alice and Frank, Theresa, Jeanne, James, Remus, and Sirius (Peter was still sleeping). We got our schedules from Professor McGonagall once every seventh year from Gryffindor had woken and come downstairs. Classes were boring: the same old spiel about what we were going to learn and a quick review. After a long day, the end came.

"Well, we've made it through the second day of seventh year." James said.

"Yep." I sighed.

"Lils, why are you sad?" James asked, concerned. He put his arms around me and hugged me close.

"It's just that this is our last year together and we might not see each other ever again."

"Don't say that. It's our last year at Hogwarts, but friends stay friends. We'll make sure to meet up once a week, right guys?" James looked around at everyone and they nodded.

"Yeah, it'll be all right, Evans."

"Don't worry, Lily."

"Cheer up, Lily. It's not like we're living on opposite sides of the world after we graduate." They all looked at Peter, for he had yet to speak.

"Oh! Umm, yeah. We'll be there."

"Speaking of being there," I said, "Dumbledore wanted to talk to us about something. Where are Theresa, Alice, and Frank?"

"We're here!" Theresa called from an armchair beside the fire. Alice and Frank waved from a couch nearby. We walked over, and seeing that no one else was within hearing distance, I explained.

"Professor Dumbledore asked us to join the Order of the Phoenix."

"Order of the Phoenix?" Jeanne asked.

"Yeah, I've heard of it," Sirius said.

"Isn't it a secret group that fights against He Who Must Not Be Named?" Everyone looked at Peter again.

"How do you know that?"



"M-my Mum told me about it."

"Is your mum a part of the Order?" Theresa, like the rest of us, wanted to know where Peter got his information.

"N-no, but I think she may be friends with someone who is…"

"Okay..." I said. "Well, he wanted to know if we'd join and he said that if you all agreed, we were to bring you all up to his office by the end of this week."

"I'm in." Jeanne said.

"Me, too," said Remus.

"Don't forget Sirius!" (I bet you can't guess who said that.)

"Fighting against You-Know-Who sounds kind of dangerous," Theresa said dubiously, "But I'll do it! Bring on Voldy-poo!" We all looked at her with a strange look.

"What? Can't a girl get excited at the thought of stopping villains and righting evil? I mean it's all the rage in films these days." Again, she received a strange look.

"Count me in, too." Alice said.

"Sure," Frank shrugged. Again, we all looked over at Peter, since he was the only one who hadn't shared his decision.

"Oh! Oh yeah. I'll join too."

"So it's settled then. When are you all free this week?" We discussed and finally agreed on a day to share the news with Dumbledore, then went to bed.

"Shall we find out if Malfoy and Bellatrix are doing what they're supposed to?" James inquired as we walked back together to the Head Tower.

"Sure." As quick as we could say 'Cornish pixies', we were in the Tower and searching the Marauder's Map for any sign of the Slytherin Prefects.

"Oh, there they are," I pointed out. They were pacing outside the entrance to their common room. We looked at each other.

"Do you call that doing rounds?" James asked with a gleam in his eyes.

"Not at all."

"I didn't think so." He kissed my cheek and helped me off the floor, where we were situated. We headed down to the dungeons, preparing for a confrontation.



"Well, well. Look who stood up to our expectations." James said as we approached the Slytherins.

"Well, of _course_ we'd be doing our rounds, Potter" Lucius spat.

"I didn't mean we expected you to do your rounds. We expected you to be shirking your duties. And I see that you are."

"It's not as if we're lounging about the common room." Malfoy sneered.

"No, just in front of it," I said.

"Don't talk to us, Mudblood. You don't deserve our conversation." Bellatrix snapped.

"You are a prefect and you shall act like one, Slytherin or not. And one of the requirements to be a prefect is to show respect where it is needed. And I am Head Girl. You don't see me running around insulting people. And once you find out that people who aren't Purebloods can be better wizards than people who are, what argument will you have then?" I wasn't going to just stand there meekly, absorbing her scathing words. Bellatrix opened her mouth to sneer a bit more when I cut her off, holding up a hand.

"I don't want to hear it. You have work to do. We expect you to get it done properly. That means patrolling the whole school, not just in front of your common room." The two prefects scowled and marched past us, Lucius bumping James hard in the shoulder and Bellatrix smirking at me.

"Well that was easier than I expected." James said. "You did great, Love. They shan't call you a Mudblood again." He slung an arm around my shoulders and squeezed me tight.

"Oh, I'm sure they will. But it doesn't get to me and I shall be ready with a firm comeback the next time it happens."

"Ready or not, you'll do a fine job." We went up to the Head Tower and were swept away anew at its vastness. I mean, sure we'd seen it last night, but we were tired, and the splendor was diminished with our fatigue. Today it was resplendent with Head Boy and Girl glory. It was also decked out in Gryffindor colors, the light shimmering and reflecting off of gold and crimson throw pillows, banners, carpets, chairs, you name it. It was magnificent and positively magical, if you'll excuse the pun. But instead of standing there, marveling at it, James and I checked the Marauder's Map once more to be sure that Lucius and Bellatrix were actually doing what they were supposed to do before heading up to bed. It had been another long day, and we were eager for another night on comfortable Hogwarts mattresses.



The rest of the week passed quickly. We had agreed to see Dumbledore on Friday and, somehow, it was already that day. We had gone straight to his office after dinner, gave the gargoyle the password, and climbed up the stairs to his door. I knocked.

"Come in, children," called the headmaster. I pushed to door open and we filed through.

"Hello Professor."

"Hello, Miss Evans. So I take it you've all accepted my proposition?"

"Yes, we've all agreed to join the Order," Jeanne said. I swear! Something must have happened to Jeanne that I don't know about. She had gotten so much more outspoken than ever before.

"I'm glad to hear it. We could use brilliant minds like yours. Thank you children."

"Not a problem, Headmaster," Alice said.

"Yeah, we're happy to help!" Theresa said, overeager once more.

"After you graduate, keep a lookout every Wednesday night at 9:45. If you see orange sparks, come to the Leaky Cauldron the following night at 11:36."

"Yes, Sir." Remus said. We all nodded in agreement. Well, everyone except for Sirius, he winked and held up finger guns. But that's the equivalent of a nod. Dumbledore merely laughed as he motioned toward the door and said, "See you then". We left and I saw Sirius murmur into Jeanne's ear before he led her in another direction.

**Well, that's it for now. I'm considering inserting an ending somewhere, so what do you think? Are you eager for a lot more of this story or are you fine with a few more chapters and then a brand new story? Please review! (Just so you know, that requires answering my question and may or may not include any compliments or criticism you may have) :D**


	27. Secrets and Strange Happenings

**Hey, it's finally a new chapter! Sorry again for taking so long, but now, I've got a plan, so chapter 28 should appear fairly soon. But anyways, I won't keep you from this long awaited chapter, so enjoy!**

James and I were quietly working on our homework and Head duties during our only free period of the week. Meanwhile, the sun was shining outside and the others who were currently unoccupied with classes were laughing, chatting, and enjoying themselves.

I sighed. "It's going to be a hard year." And I promptly sat back in my chair, working out the cramps in my hand.

"Well, we _are _seventh years." James looked over consolingly before he went back to work.

"Yeah, _and_ Head Boy and Girl _and_ we have NEWTS to take." He put down his quill and turned to face me.

"You'll do fine. We both will." I leaned into his hug. "Now let's take a break and do something fun, why don't we?"

"Okay." We decided to join everyone outside and to bring along some snacks. When James saw me sling my bag over my shoulder and pick up my books, he looked at me.

"Don't think about doing that work outside, Lils," he warned.

"Of course I won't…" I smiled innocently.

"I'll be watching you. Now let's go before we lose our sunshine along with the rest of the free period." I dutifully walked by his side to the kitchens while we picked up snacks.

"Here you are Miss." I looked down at the house elf holding up a plate of mini sandwiches. I recognized her from somewhere… Oh, yes! She took me, Sirius, and James up to the Hospital Wing after Snape did that horrible awful thing to James that will never be spoken of again.

"Thank you, Widget."

"Oh, Miss, Widget don't need no thankin'."

"Of course you do. You made these sandwiches. They look scrumptious."

"Thank you, Miss."

"You're very welcome. I'll see you later this year, perhaps?"

"You needn't be comin' down here jus' to see me, Miss."



"Ah, but I want to. Have a nice day. And don't let the other students bully you and everyone else down here." She opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it, unable to come up with a way to demean herself even more, as is the way of house elves.

"Ready, Lils?" James asked, holding a tray of sweets in his hands.

"Yep. I'm right behind you," I answered as I set the sandwiches on another tray with drinks, picked it up, and followed him out of the portrait hole with another "thank you" and "goodbye".

When we got to the old tree by the lake, we were greeted with whoops of joy at the sight of food. The fact that two of their best friends had shown up didn't matter at all.

"Oi! Don't we get a hello? Or are you just going to talk to the food?" James complained. However, the smile on his face may have given away the fact that he was teasing them just a smidge.

"Talk to the food, of course." Sirius stated it as if it should have been obvious, teasing him right back.

"So, Jeanne. I heard you spoke with Sirius over the summer." I knew my eyes were shining mischievously, and that my grin was just a tad evil. She blushed.

"Yes… I… spoke…with him. At the ball."

"And did you find him kind and amusing?" I glanced over at Sirius, my expression the equivalent of a wink. He smiled, the glint in his eyes matching mine.

"…You could call it that. But enough about me, how are your Head Duties coming along?" she said in a rush.

"Oh, you're not going to get away that easily. Tell us what happened between you two. Otherwise I'm sure Sirius would like to share, and you _know_ how he can exaggerate." A slightly worried crease broke the pattern of embarrassment painted plainly on her face. Sirius just smiled bigger and playfully nudged her leg with his, mouthing, "Go on!" Jeanne took a big breath and let it out.

"I saw Sirius leave the ballroom after you and James came back from inside, so I followed him to see if he was all right." She took another breath, glanced at Sirius for encouragement, and continued. "I found him sitting on the floor of the hallway, slumped against the wall, looking just so dejected and morose that it practically dragged me into depression along with him." She blushed, embarrassed that she spoke her feelings without even thinking about it. 

Sirius looked at her out of the corner of his eye, his curiosity and apprehension apparent. Jeanne, however, was oblivious to his attention and kept going at a faster pace as though to get it over with.

"So I sat down next to him and asked him what was wrong. He was kind of embarrassed, but he told me that he wished he was in James' place just then. That surprised me more than the fact that Sirius was depressed." She shot me a look that practically screamed "why didn't _I _know about this".

"Hey, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but there was a lot going on," I said in defense. She just rolled her eyes and smiled to say she was only kidding.

"Anyway, then I told him that I was sorry to hear that. I assured him that you liked him, but more like a brother. He smiled ruefully. 'I know that,' he said. 'I just wish it was different.' Then I said, 'Well, just because Lily doesn't like you as more than a friend, that doesn't mean that everyone else feels that way.' Then he said thanks for my sympathy, but it was just making him more depressed. Then he smiled, and I saw an amused glint in his eye, something nobody had seen from him all night. I was glad to see him even a bit happier, so I asked if there was anything I could do to keep that happiness in his eyes. 'Yeah,' he agreed, 'This.' And he leaned in and…" She cleared her throat, lowering her voice to something closer to a whisper. "And… he… kissed me." She turned red, her eyes downcast, but I could see a smile playing on her lips. Sirius placed an arm around her waist with a care I had never seen him use before. He took his free hand and turned her face to look at him, stroked her cheek, and kissed her as gently as ever. It was short but sweet. Jeanne pulled away, biting her lip and smiling. Sirius smiled back. It was a smile full of love and kindness.

"Well, I guess we'll be seeing you," Remus said, a twinge of hostility in his voice.

"Yeah, I guess so. Shall we?" He asked Jeanne, holding out a hand and helping her stand. She could only nod shyly. I waved goodbye and examined Remus' face. He looked sullen and sad.

"Can I talk to you for a moment, Remus?" I stood and when James made to follow, I gestured for him to stay sitting. "It'll only be a moment." Remus stood and followed cautiously.

"What is it?" He asked when we were out of hearing range of everyone around us.



"I heard that undertone in your voice when you spoke to Sirius. And I can still see, even now, that you're depressed that Jeanne likes Sirius. And also by Sirius' little display." He blushed a bit.

"What are you talking about?"

"You like Jeanne. And don't tell me you don't. I know you, Remus. I'm the girl who watched your every move for at least three weeks last year _and_ I'm one of your best friends." He just looked me, his face showing no emotion. The he stepped forward and pushed me against the wall. Darkness enveloped his eyes and he grabbed my shoulders and kissed me roughly. I pushed him off, my breath scarce, and I took a few steps away from him.

"What was that?!" I was not only surprised, but I was angry that he had just grabbed me and kissed me without warning or permission. The darkness cleared from his eyes, replaced by confused hazel.

"What? What just happened?" It was my turn to be confused.

"You just grabbed me and kissed me."

"I- I did?" I nodded, concern adding to the confusion.

"Are you okay, Remus?" The darkness returned. And he growled. He smacked me, scratching me inadvertently. His eyes cleared once more and I ran away, looking behind me once before running inside.

"Lily?!" James called after me. I saw Remus walk over, but James just pushed him away. "What did you do to her?!" He ran after me, but I couldn't face him. I ran to Dumbledore's office, tears springing to my eyes.

"Yes?" I pushed the door open as I felt blood trickle through my fingers. I gasped in pain. "Oh, my. What happened?" I just shook my head and cried, collapsing into a chair in front of his desk as it materialized. James was pounding on the door.

"Lily? Lily, what happened? What did Remus do to you? Let me in!" I caught Dumbledore's eye and shook my head.

"I'm afraid Miss Evans is indisposed. You'll have to hear her story when she's in a better condition." Dumbledore replied for me.

"No! I need to know what happened! Lily, let me in!" I shrunk into my chair and cried harder.

"That is enough Mr. Potter. I'll send someone for you when Miss Evans is feeling better."



I heard James sigh and kick the door one last time before his footsteps signaled his descent down the spiral staircase. By that point, I had slowed my tears to a small trickle and was looking at Dumbledore warily with a mixture of embarrassment and urgency.

"Now, Miss Evans. Are you ready to share?" I nodded. The headmaster smiled. "I am glad to hear it. You may begin whenever you wish." I felt myself take a shaky breath before I started.

"Well, Jeanne and Sirius got together over the summer without telling anyone, so Jeanne relayed the story just now, outside. I noticed Remus looking sad and jealous when Sirius, um… kissed her and they left. So I asked him to come with me so I could talk to him about it. He was acting perfectly normal, then he got a dark look in his eyes. He- he grabbed me and pushed me against the wall behind us and," I cleared my throat. "He kissed me, hard. I pushed him off and the dark in his eyes left. When I told him what he'd done, he didn't remember anything. Then the- the darkness…came back. That time he sort of growled, and slapped me. I ran away and James saw me go into the castle. James asked Remus what he did, but I don't Remus really knew what had happened. I couldn't think of anywhere else to go… And I knew that if James found me, I'd have to tell him what happened. Then he'd go after Remus and hurt him. He wouldn't have the sense to sort things out. He'd go into a blind rage." Throughout my whole story, Dumbledore nodded, thinking.

"Thank you for telling me, Miss Evans. Now if you'll go up to the Hospital Wing, you can get your would healed and I will have a chance to speak with Mr. Lupin. It is very possible that it is merely the werewolf in him showing through, but it is also possible that he was possessed." I nodded. I wanted to ask questions, but I thought it best to get the gash in my cheek fixed before I lost too much blood and fainted. I stood a bit shakily and staggered as I walked to the door.

"Perhaps you would like some assistance?" I nodded, propping myself against the wall. "Widget, Dingy, if you could come here, please." Two house elves Apparated into the office at his call.

"What can we do for you, Master?" They asked in unison.

"Widget, would you please take Miss Evans to the Hospital Wing? And Dingy if you could bring Mr. Lupin to my office?"



"Yes, Master," they chorused. Widget came over to me and helped me up to the Hospital Wing as Dingy Disapparated to wherever Remus was.

"Are you all righ', Miss Lily?" Widget asked, concerned.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just a bit dizzy. Let's keep going." I could tell that my voice was faint and I could feel my legs steadily losing their strength.

"We're halfway there, Miss. Do you think you can make it?" I stopped and shook my head to clear it. When nothing happened, I just nodded vaguely and kept going. I took another few steps before my legs gave out.

"Miss Lily!"

"I'm fine. Can you Apparate us into the Hospital Wing?" It was barely a murmur.

"Yes, of course, Miss. Widget took you, Master Black and Master Potter up there last time. She can certainly take just you up now." I nodded before everything went black.

**Hope you liked it! Please review and share. Remember that plan I mentioned? Well, most likely, once that plan has ended, so will this story. Sorry to bum you all out, but, well, I have other inspirations that want to be heard! :)**


	28. Getting Information

**Here's the next chapter. Hope you like it! Sorry for the wait! :)**

I woke up somewhere far more comfortable than the hard floor I was last on. I opened my eyes with some effort. James was sitting beside me, clutching onto my hand as tight as he could.

"Lily!" His expression was one of relief and happiness.

"Hello to you, too. My hand is hurting more than my cheek at the moment, James." I smiled.

"Oh, sorry." He loosened his grip and blood started throbbing through my hand once more.

"I guess he scratched me deeper than I thought." James' face darkened immediately.

"What did he do to you, Lily?"

"_He_ didn't do anything. The last I heard, Dumbledore thought he was possessed."

"Well, let's go find out."

"James, I'm hardly in any shape to get up right now."

"Lily, you only passed out, and you've been sleeping for an hour. You're not that bad off. And Madame Delancey said you could go whenever you wake up. She gave you a blood restoring potion. And I fetched some fresh clothes from your room for you." I smiled tenderly as I stood up.

"Thanks. Now can you….turn around?" He blushed and did so, muttering a quick "Sorry!" I just shook my head and got dressed.

"Let's get going," I said, letting him know it was safe to turn around.

"Yes, let's. We're off, Ms. D!" The healer poked her head out of her office.

"All right. Try not to come back again this year. You two don't want to spend your last year in the Hospital Wing." I laughed and said goodbye.

When we got to Dumbledore's office, I could hear voices speaking inside. I put an ear to the door.

"It sounds like… Snape?"

"I bet he's the rotten git that did this!" James opened the door and lunged at Snape in one fluid movement. I guess Quidditch does a lot more for your coordination than I thought…

"Mr. Potter! You have no reason to attack Mr. Snape." James stopped with his arm ready to throw another punch. He stood up and dusted himself off.



"Really? Then why is he in here, talking to you?! The only reason he could be here is to be punished for possessing Remus and making him do things to hurt Lily!" Snape stood, straightened out his robes, and tried to swagger over to a corner. He would have succeeded if he were able to walk without limping.

"I'm sure that's the easiest conclusion to jump to," Dumbledore said calmly.

"It's the only explanation!"

"I think you'll find it's not. Mr. Snape has come to tell me that he saw the person who was controlling your friend."

"Tell me who and you won't have to worry about punishing him!"

"But then I would have to punish you, Mr. Potter. And I'm not inclined to do so. Unless you want to be punished for breaking into my office, I advise you to calm down." James paced a bit and ran a hand through his hair before he sat me down in a chair and took the one next to it.

"Mr. Snape, you may go. Thank you for telling me what you know." Snape nodded once, scowling at James before he left. "Now, Mr. Potter. Are you ready for the whole story?"

"Yes, Professor."

"Very well then." The headmaster looked at me, assessing whether I would be all right with hearing the story again and nodded to himself. He seemed to have decided I would be fine. I couldn't help but let my hair hang down in my face as I looked away from James. I could sense his discomfiture and felt him stiffen a few feet away as he heard what Remus was forced to do.

"What Mr. Snape was in here to tell me was that he saw who Mr. Lupin was being possessed by and that he had an idea why they were doing it." James nodded, thoroughly embarrassed by his outburst now. Dumbledore continued. "According to him it was another Slytherin by the name of Tannin Lestrange."

"Who? Is he even in our year?"

"He's in fifth year. It's not the first time we've had to deal with poor conduct from him. You can be sure that I'll speak to him as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Professor," I said, catching James' eye before giving him a warning look. I could tell he would have said something else.

"Yeah, thanks."



"It is no problem at all, Mr. Potter. Professor Slughorn understands that the two of you will be late and has been informed not to punish you in any way for it." He smiled as we stood to leave.

"Thank you. Goodbye, Sir," I said before I stepped through the door.

When we were in the hallway, heading towards the dungeons, I looked up at James.

"Stop scowling and smile. Otherwise Sirius will wonder what's up. And he's got an uncanny knack for figuring things out. You know that. It'll be bad enough with Remus confused and wary." He only nodded, musing.

"How much trouble would I get in for beating on a fifth year for no apparent reason?" He mumbled quietly, more to himself than me. I stopped and stepped in front of him, whirling around to meet his eyes.

"James Potter, you will _not_ lay a hand on anybody for what happened today. Though we may be the Heads, we have no authority to punish something so severe. Nor do we punish anyone with physical violence."

"All right. I'm sorry." I glared at him once more before walking off ahead, making a point that if he did anything to hurt anyone, that I would not support him one bit. Nor would I talk to him again.

"Sorry we're late, Professor," I said to Professor Slughorn as James and I got to Potions class.

"Not to worry, Ms. Evans," he boomed. "We were simply discussing the effects of incorrectly preparing various potions. Please, take a seat, the both of you. And take out quill and parchment." He smiled brightly at me and merely let his eyes slide over James before he continued. The rest of the class consisted of note taking and quickly snuck peeks over at Remus. He seemed slightly distracted, but there was nothing dark about him. I threw a note at him when Slughorn wrote something on the board. He read it and frowned. He looked back over at me, confused. He scribbled a reply and sent it back. I read over it a few times to assure myself that he didn't remember anything and that he didn't do anything willfully. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding, shoved the note in my book and sat through the rest of Slughorn's speech. Fortunately, there wasn't much of class left, due to our late arrival. Plus he didn't plan the best way to fit all the information he wanted to share into one class period. Remus kept asking me 

questions as vague as he could make them so as not to arouse Sirius' curiosity. After a point, I just shook my head and mouthed "later" to him. He sighed and nodded.

When we reached Transfiguration and class began, I was a bit disheartened. We had to sit through another lecture, but this time on how concentration and determination were imperative to transfiguring living things into inanimate objects or vice versa. And I thought I was lucky to have missed Binns' class from severe blood loss... That was obviously not the case.

At the end of the day, we all went down for dinner in the Great Hall. Sirius and Jeanne sat side by side, whispering sweet nothings to each other. Peter was on the other side of Sirius, facing the Slytherin table with an odd look on his face. It was one of extreme concentration trying to be disguised as a casual glance. Something was going on with that boy and I intended to find out eventually. James was on my left, and trying his best not to keep looking over at the Slytherin table while Remus, on my right, tried his best to look indifferent about Jeanne and Sirius.

"Come with me to the Prefect Common Room after supper," I whispered in Remus' ear. He looked over, somewhat surprised, but he knew that the ten minutes that went unaccounted for by him must have been upsetting. He nodded, his eyes on his food. I nudged him and whispered to him again.

"I don't just want to tell you what happened. I also want to talk to you about those two." I jerked my head towards the newest lovebirds in our group. He blushed and nodded. I saw him cast a cautious eye around me, to James, who was tense and glaring at his food. "Don't worry. He knows what happened. He's not mad at you." He breathed a sigh of relief and I patted his shoulder before turning around to face James.

"Calm down, James. Let Dumbledore sort everything out. If you like, we can go see him tonight. But as I said before, we're not the ones to punish that boy." He unwound enough to nod and kiss my cheek. The rest of dinner was a quiet affair for the Marauders, Jeanne and I. Except for Jeanne and Sirius, who had most likely forgotten that anyone else was even there.

I finished eating and left the Great Hall with Remus. I caught James' eye and he followed. When we had reached the Prefect Common Room, Remus went in first and I explained to James what was going on.



"I'm just going to tell him what happened and I want to talk about Sirius and Jeanne with him."

"So why do you want me to wait outside?" He asked.

"He's not going to tell me anything with you in there. And I don't want another repeat of this afternoon." He nodded, though I could tell he wasn't very happy about it. I kissed him lightly and stepped through the portrait hole.

"So what's going on?" Remus questioned after I had sat down.

"Remember how I pulled you aside this afternoon once Jeanne and Sirius had left?" He nodded, blushing once more. "Well, I started talking to you about it, then this…darkness sort of crept into your eyes and you grabbed me and, um, kissed me. Then I pushed you off and you sort of came to yourself again while I told you what happened, then the darkness came back and you slapped my face, scratching me. That's why I wasn't in History of Magic. I had passed out from the blood loss after talking to Dumbledore." Remus sat in his chair, his face pale.

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be. It wasn't your fault. Snape was watching and he saw someone possessing you."

"Why was he watching?" I shrugged.

"I don't know. I bet he watches everything. He's nothing else to do." He nodded in agreement.

"So does he know who possessed me?"

"He said it was Tannin Lestrange. A fifth year from Slytherin." Remus nodded.

"He's not a good sort. He's the one we found abusing a girl from Hufflepuff." I cringed at the memory.

"No, he's not good. But now that you know what happened, I want to continue our interrupted discussion from this afternoon. You like Jeanne, don't you?"

"Yes. I guess I'm not very good at disguising it…"

"You are: James had no idea. I'm just very observant. So are you going to be all right with those two together?" He sighed.

"I guess I don't have much of a choice. I won't break them up, so I guess I'll have to find a way to survive their… interactions."



"Yes, you will. And I'm sorry for that. And I regret that James and I have to go see Dumbledore even more. We won't be able to take your mind off of, well, you know… Would you like to come as well?"

"No, I'll just go to the library."

"Remus, you're already tired enough without studying all night. You're either coming with us or going to the common room and hoping that Peter can adequately distract you." He sighed.

"I'll go with you. Let's go." I nodded and pushed the portrait away from the wall. James was sitting on the floor against the wall. He stood when he saw us and we headed down to Dumbledore's for a bit of closure. Although with James, he would find a way to confront the dirty Slytherin. I made a mental note to keep a better eye on him.

**Well, whatcha think? Please review. And this story might have a longer life than expected, so be happy and rejoice! Or not, I don't mind… :)**


	29. Solving and Gaining Problems

**Hey. A new chapter already? Yep, I guess I'm finally getting back on my game. Enjoy!**

"I spoke with Mr. Lestrange after the two of you had left. He is to be suspended for two months starting November. He will not be allowed to participate in any festivities for the rest of the school year. Instead, he will serve detention with Professor McGonagall." James smirked.

"That sounds like a fitting punishment."

"Indeed Mr. Potter. Now will the three of you require anything else?" James and I shook our heads, but Remus, who was seated behind us, raised his hand.

"I was wondering if there was any way to keep people from controlling me, Sir."

"A good precaution and a wise one. Very astute, Mr. Lupin. Quite a good idea. Perhaps all of you should come to me for lessons. As part of the Order, you'll need to keep people out of your minds. Shall we say, next Thursday?" We all nodded. Remus looked relieved. I didn't doubt that he was. I wouldn't want to be possessed and have no memory of the horrible things I was forced to do. We left, thanking him.

"Are you satisfied, James?" I asked. Tannin was the first in a long time to be suspended, and with good reason.

"Yes, but I still feel like that Slytherin scum should get a taste of his own medicine." I looked at him, my face expressionless and hard as stone. "I'm only kidding, Lils." I raised my eyebrows.

"Be sure you keep it that way. You know how I feel and you know what shall happen if you do anything to him." He sighed.

"Yes, Mother, I know." I slapped his arm playfully.

"Enough of that. Let's get up to the common room." He nodded.

As we walked, I noticed that James kept fidgeting. Several times he reached out as if to put his arm around me or hold my hand, but each time he pulled his hand away. I couldn't help but feel that this was for Remus' benefit. When we reached the common room, Sirius, Jeanne, Theresa, Alice, Frank, and Peter were all sitting in a group. Jeanne was sitting in Sirius' lap, but quickly vacated the spot once she saw Remus. I noticed a pained look on our furry friend's face.

"Hello, everyone." I said, sitting next to Theresa on the sofa.

"Hey." Alice and Frank were doing Herbology homework together and Theresa was reading _Witch Weekly_. Sirius looked up when he noticed James and waved casually. He continued talking to Jeanne, though he was a bit put off that she had left her perch. Remus 

immediately sat as far away as possible from the couple and buried his nose in a textbook. I sighed and walked over to him. He looked up but quickly went back to his book. I took it gently from his hands and closed it.

"You can't be in such a bad mood. Sirius is the only one who doesn't know or can't guess at why you're upset. And right now, I don't think any of us need a damper on our moods. So come on. Join the fun." He frowned.

"Fun?"

"Well, not now. But we'll _make_ it fun." He smiled a bit.

"How do you propose this?"

"Well, there's Exploding Snap, Wizards' Chess…" Remus looked at me, bored. I grinned.

"Or we could go Marauding."

"Oh, Head Girl's going to pull pranks? You don't see that every day."

"Well you're seeing it tonight. Let's go." He grinned and stood as I pulled on his arm. I went over to James and whispered in his ear. Evil sparkles in his eyes came to life and he got up to follow us out of the Common Room grinning.

"So, what are we going to do?"

"How about pranking the Slytherins?" I suggested.

"It's getting a little old for us, Love. How many times do you think we've done that in the last six years?" I smiled. James did have a point.

"How about messing with McGonagall's Ginger Newts?"

"That's so childish, Moony! We need something _big_."

"Then we'd better get cracking." I said. And we did. Sitting in the hallway with a magically created clipboard (which was a new and fascinating invention for James, as he had never laid eyes on one), parchment, and pen, we came up with such daring and adventurous pranks that I was surprised at how diabolical they were. It was late when we were through brainstorming and reentered Gryffindor Tower. Remus agreed to keep the plans in the back of his Ancient Runes textbook, since neither Sirius nor Peter would need to borrow it. James and I headed to our dorm, but despite our best efforts, we were too excited about what we were planning to even think about sleep.



The next morning at breakfast, Jeanne resisted Sirius' attention long enough to take Remus out in the hall and talk to him. He came back looking as though he had come to terms with something, and Jeanne looked satisfied. Remus took up his place next to me once again.

"How'd it go?" He shrugged.

"I didn't hear anything I didn't already know or couldn't guess at. I guess I just accepted my fate as a bookworm that no one wants." I frowned.

"I wanted you, once upon a time. It was you who wouldn't have me." He nodded.

"And would you have been as happy with me as you are now, with James?"

"You have a good point, but you're missing mine."

"I _did_ hear you. But who wants me now?" I pondered his question for a moment.

"I know she's not exactly your type, but Theresa's single at the moment…" I was joking and made it plain with the grin on my face.

"You are so funny, I just forget to laugh." I smiled.

"Come on, cheer up. I'm sure you'll find somebody. Maybe a cute Ravenclaw." I nudged him playfully.

"And what sorts of reactions do you think I'd get from James and Sirius, Gryffindor enthusiasts?"

"They'd be happy for you, as I would. Don't worry, you'll find someone." He sighed.

"I suppose so. Thanks, Lily."

"You are very welcome. Now are you going to eat today, or merely poke at your food like last night?"

"Even if I was still upset, I'd have to eat. I'm starved." I laughed.

"Then _eat_, stop talking to me." He grinned back, eyeing the various dishes. He passed up the porridge and went straight for a hearty meal of bacon, eggs, and toast. I think I might have spotted a few pancakes find their way onto his plate as well. James patted me on the back and hugged me.

"Good work," He whispered in my ear.

"Thanks," I whispered back.

"I can hear the two of you, you know," Remus said around the strip of bacon in his mouth. James grinned and said, "Well, that's bloody fantastic, now, isn't it? You finally know that your friends care." Remus rolled his eyes and returned to his food. I, meanwhile, 

congratulated myself on another good deed well done. Remus was back to normal. He wasn't unwillingly controlled by Slytherins with hidden agendas, nor was he moody about Jeanne. I had the feeling that the day was going to be a good one.

And it would have been, too, if James hadn't been spying on the Slytherins long enough to figure out who Tannin Lestrange was. I was walking through the castle, filling in for one of the Hufflepuffs who had gotten a detention with Filch for being a few seconds late for class. She was just down the hall, for cripes sakes! But back to the matter at hand…

I was still doing rounds when I heard voices. One was angry, obviously the speaker was trying extremely hard to keep from being heard, and the other was flippantly indifferent. I rounded the corner, not expecting what I saw. James, Head Boy, was scowling at a fifth year from Slytherin. The boy was skinny for his age, but with powerful looking muscles, slumped shoulders, and what seemed a permanent scowl on his face.

"What's going on here?" I asked, trying to retain some sliver of composure. James looked up; his irritated expression disappeared as it was replaced with one of embarrassment and surprise.

"Oh… Lily. Fancy seeing you here."

"Yes, fancy that," I said dryly. "James, you still haven't answered my question. What's going on here?"

"None of your concern, Mudblood," the boy who I assumed to be Tannin Lestrange spat.

"If you intend to insult me with that term, it won't work. And you'll show respect to your Head Girl, Tannin Lestrange, even if I _am_ a Gryffindor and you a Slytherin." He looked a tad surprised, but any trace of that disappeared behind a mask of hate and indignation.

"Funny, that's the same thing I heard from Potter over here. You might want to be sure he's not just taking words out of your mouth and giving himself credit."

"He should have told you the same thing. Respect is due to Head students. And to Prefects."

"What do prefects have to do with it?"

"I think you might be familiar with a Gryffindor Prefect. He goes by the name of Remus Lupin." I had told James not to confront Lestrange, but that had already happened. And why not be here to keep things under control? Lestrange shrugged.



"Name doesn't mean a thing to me."

"I'm sure it doesn't. Just possessing people by order of Lord Voldemort, I assume? Tell me. What does he want with Remus? You'd think after messing with Mr. Black, he'd not bother us again." Tannin paled now.

"What do you know about that?"

"I'm one of Mr. Black's friends. As is your Head Boy. It's our responsibility to know these things. And it's our responsibility to find things out from troublemaking students."

"So that's why you're here?"

"Oh, I just came upon you two. But that's certainly why I'm _still_ here."

"Well you won't get anything out of me." He had sunk back behind his façade of bravado and superiority.

"Oh, I already did. I know you're working for Voldemort. And that you must be very close to him, because you know about Sirius. Not to mention you were designated a difficult task by him." He paled once more before shrugging and struggling to keep his face emotion less and expressionless as I had been. "But what I want to know is what Voldemort wants with Remus. And why you had him…violate my personal space."

"You dare speak his name?"

"Why not? He shows no respect to others, so I'll not honor a self-fashioned title."

"You little-!" James stepped forward.

"Don't lose your cool, Lestrange," he warned. Tannin scowled, but remained planted a good distance away.

"What does Voldemort want with Remus?" I prodded.

"I can't tell you his plans. But if it'll get you to leave me alone, he just wanted me to make someone get between the both of you. I won't say more than that."

"That's good enough, I suppose." I was a bit thrown off by that statement, but I didn't let it show. "You can go, but not without fifteen points from Slytherin for being out late." Lestrange scowled deeper and stalked off. I shot a look at James before walking up to the Head Tower.

When I got there, James was on my heels.

"Lily, come on! You can't expect me to just sit around and do nothing about one of my best mates being possessed by a no-good Slytherin!" I walked up the stairs to my room, James right behind me.



"I can and I did. And you didn't listen. As it was, it seems I got farther with my method than you with yours. Good night, James." I closed the door to my room behind me, leaving him standing in the hall between our two rooms. I told him to leave well enough alone and he didn't listen. I was _not_ going to sit back and take his blatant disregard for my wishes. This was his first taste of my disappointment in a long time. Perhaps it would be an awakening, however rude. I readied myself for bed and tried to drift off to sleep. But something that Tannin had said was bugging me… Why did Voldemort want to keep me and James away from each other?

**Hope you liked it and please review. Thanks to all of you who have reviewed the previous chapters and will keep doing so! And if you've any ideas of what they could use as pranks, do share!**


	30. Questions and Answers

**Hey, how are you all? Never mind that, I know you're all happy that I'm updating somewhat early and that there's a new chapter. I'll shut up now so you can read! :D**

"Lily!" James called from down the hall. I kept walking, flipping my hair over my shoulder and adjusting the books in my arms.

"Lily! Come on, it's been two days. You can't still be angry at me!" I turned and took a deep breath.

"I'm not mad, James, I'm disappointed."

"But-"

"But what, James? I told that it wasn't your job to punish him. And when Dumbledore had already given him punishment- the harshest punishment he's given in years, might I add-you're _still_ not satisfied. Can't you just grow up?" James looked down before speaking again.

"I'm sorry. But he possessed Moony, and he's a Death Eater. I love Moony; he's one of the only people I can confide in. And to see him get possessed, well, I can't stand it." I sighed.

"I know Lestrange upset and angered you, but you can't just pounce on everyone who does something wrong, James. You have to have a clear head and keep your emotions out of the way sometimes."

"I guess so…"

"I know so. And we've got that lesson with Dumbledore in a couple of days. Then we'll be sure that nothing like this ever happens again."

"You've been doing a lot of helping people, haven't you?"

"I suppose… Why do you ask?"

"Because you know exactly what to say and how to say it." I smiled.

"I guess it's just a gift. I've honestly not done a lot of this… But I care about you and I want to make you feel better. That's probably why. Now let's go." He smiled and took my hand as we walked towards the Great Hall for lunch. All of our friends smiled when they saw us walk in together and happy.

"What are you all smiling at?" I asked when I sat down.

"Oh… nothing," Jeanne answered. I looked at her skeptically. She grinned.

"Are you two gonna stand around all day?" Sirius asked. I rolled my eyes and sat down with James.



"So I hear you met that Lestrange kid a couple days ago." James stiffened. I looked at Sirius.

"Yes, we…ran into him." I answered. I looked over at James and took his hand. He squeezed my hand gently, letting me know he was all right.

"Well, did you learn anything?" He pressed.

"He said that Voldemort didn't want me and James to stay together." Sirius' brow furrowed.

"Why would he want you to be separated? He doesn't even know you're part of the Order yet." I shrugged.

"It doesn't make any sense at all."

"Maybe Dumbledore will know something." I looked over at Remus when he spoke, unaware that he had been listening.

"You know, that's a good idea. Let's go after dinner, shall we?"

"I'm up for it," James said.

"But how are you going to get in? He changes the password every week." I looked over at Sirius.

"Of course _you_ would know that… Let's try the one he gave us last. If it doesn't work, we'll wait and see if someone comes out or goes in." Sirius shrugged.

"Sure, okay."

"We'll need the cloak, won't we?" Remus asked.

"Not necessarily… although people would wonder why we're looking to talk to Dumbledore instead of the other way around." I mused. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"After dinner tonight, then. I'll run up and get the cloak," Sirius said.

"Should we tell Pete?" James questioned loyally. Sirius shrugged.

"Doesn't matter. You can, if you want." James thought a minute before pulling a scrap of parchment and a quill out of his bag and writing a note to Peter. It took me some time to remember that we had been whispering and if James had just casually told Peter about Voldemort in the middle of lunch, people would be worried about the mentality of the seventh year Gryffindors.

James chucked the now balled up parchment at Peter's head. The boy was again staring over at the Slytherin table, but with a look of something close to longing and admiration spread 

across his face for all to see. He came out of his daze when the paper hit him square in the face. He read it and looked up. A shadow of fear and panic flashed across his features before he covered it with the confused look that one often saw on his face. I frowned. Peter was certainly acting strange a lot these days. I wondered what had happened over the summer. He seemed to be keeping secrets from James, Remus, and Sirius, the three people he had looked up to since first year. I made a mental note to broach the subject with James.

So I went through the rest of the day concerned about Peter and Voldemort's plans. Finally, the end of dinner came and Sirius left a few minutes early to fetch the cloak. We met him in front of Dumbledore's office once we had finished eating. When Sirius produced the cloak, Peter looked confused.

"Why do you have the invisibility cloak?"

"So we can wait for someone to say the password without them asking questions,"  
Sirius stated as if it should have been obvious.

"Why do we need to do that? I know the…" He trailed off and looked down.

"You know the password, Wormtail? Then what-? Wait- how do you know the password?" the Sirius, James, and Remus all looked somewhat betrayed. I pondered the possibilities of why he would know the password. Peter's face flushed as he mumbled something.

"What?" James asked.

"I- umm- well…"

"Well, what, Peter?" Peter looked up, astonished. James only used the Marauders' real names when he was concerned or angry.

"Uh… well, these Slytherins told me to, um… infatu- infiltrate Dumbledore's office and see what I could find out about the Order…"

"And you said yes?! What the hell, Peter?!" Peter had shrunken away from the group and was positively trembling. He looked like he might pee his pants and run.

"Why would you say yes?" Sirius looked hurt.

"I'm sorry, Padfoot, but-"

"Don't call me that!"



"They said that if I didn't, they'd use the Cruciatis and the Imperious curses to make me do it and then get caught!" He said desperately. Sirius looked at James. They obviously came to some decision, because James then turned to Peter.

"Fine. What's the password?" Peter's face lit up like a struck match: a bright flare and then a guilty flicker. I frowned before turning back to the task at hand.

"Peruvian Vipertooth." I quirked an eyebrow. It wasn't often Dumbledore used passwords concerning such dangerous and powerful things. Maybe the nature of the password controlled the protection on the office? That was something interesting to think about another time. But at least I knew now why Peter was acting so weird…

"Okay, then. Peruvian Vipertooth," James said, turning to the gargoyle statue that marked the entrance to the headmaster's office. We climbed the stairs together for the second time in two weeks. Remus knocked on the door.

"Enter." We filed in and stood awkwardly. "Hello, children. I can honestly say that this visit is a surprise."

"Sorry, Professor, but Lily and James found out something from Tannin Lestrange," Remus said.

"About Lord Voldemort?"

"Yeah," Sirius said. "It's kind of confusing."

"He is good at keeping his intentions hidden. What did Mr. Lestrange tell you?"

"Well, he said that he was supposed to separate me and James… But I can't think of any reason why that would do anything to help him," I said.

"Yes, one wonders how the union of two young people would concern a powerful dark wizard. And there's no way he would be able to find out you're in the Order…"

"But even then, why would it matter that they got together?" Sirius asked.

"Therein lies the puzzle, Sirius," he said. We were all shocked that he called Sirius by his first name. The only answer we got from the Headmaster was a twinkle in his bright blue eyes.

"And that's something I'm sure we'll learn in time. But first, would you like to enlighten me as to how you discovered the password to get past the gargoyle?" Peter blushed crimson and nearly all of us looked down but for James.



"You see, that's another issue, Headmaster. Peter said that the Slytherins threatened him with Unforgiveables to get him to come up and get information on the Order." Dumbledore looked pensive for a minute.

"Do they know you're in the Order, Mr. Pettigrew?" He shook his head.

"N-no sir."

"Well, that's fortunate. I'll have to do some research, children. Hopefully I can find some answers soon enough. Perhaps another talk with Mr. Lestrange." We nodded and turned to leave.

"Goodbye, Headmaster," Remus said. Dumbledore nodded in acknowledgement.

"I'll see you for that lesson." We nodded and followed Sirius and Peter out. Sirius went to the common room to spend time with Jeanne once back in the hall.

"I'm going to…uh… get something from the kitchens, Prongs, if that's all right?" Peter asked nervously.

"It's fine, Pete, you don't need to ask. Just stay clear of any Slytherins, all right?"

"Oh, yeah… of course."

"And congrats on finding the password. That takes true Marauder spirit." Peter smiled and little and waddled down the hall a ways before finding a secret passageway that presumably led to somewhere near the kitchens.

"So… What do we want to do now?" I questioned. James grinned.

"I believe we have some Marauding to do." Remus and I grinned. We went to the common room and waited for Remus to get his bag from the boys' dormitory. I heard Sirius shout, "Where you going, Mate?"

"Library." Remus answered shortly. I could practically see Sirius' eyes rolling. We spent the rest of the night putting our plans into action. People would have to watch their footing tomorrow.

**Sorry it's a bit short, but I just **_**had**_** to end it there. You gotta have a good cliffhanger every once in a while, y'know? Please review! And some more ideas for pranks would be much appreciated! :)**


	31. Messy Pranks

**Yay! A new chapter! Don't get too excited, because it's really short and it's not even a whole day, but you get to see the beginning of their series of pranks! So, you can get excited for that. And quench your thirst by reading, because I'm done talking right about…now. :)**

At six o'clock, screams of disgust and panic rang through the castle. I got up, grinning. I dressed, brushed my hair, went through the common room, and downstairs to the Great Hall. Half the Slytherin's were running around, covered in various kinds of pudding. The other half were staring at each other and at their hair that had suddenly turned into bright neon colors in the distorted reflection of their gold plates. I quickly schooled my expression to one of surprise as I walked in. Then, when I couldn't contain myself, I laughed with the other students. James joined me not a minute later. He was grinning, too, along with a haggard, yet an intensely amused, Remus. I indulged in the buzz of the success of our prank for a moment longer before assuming the role of Head Girl.

"EVERYBODY!!" The students immediately stopped laughing like maniacs, shrieking, and panicking about how 'their hair was absolutely ruined!!'

"Those of you who find this entertaining, stop your laughing and get to your breakfast. You will be marked late if you spend your time watching and gossiping instead of eating. Those of you who are drenched in pudding, get to your common room and clean yourselves up. I don't want you fighting over the showers. This catastrophe was enough. Those of you whose hair is not its natural color, get up to the Hospital Wing and be patient. Madame Delancey already has enough to do." Everyone just kind of stood there for a moment.

"Well, get going," James said. Everyone launched into motion. Two floods of students headed for opposite ends of the castle. Some went to the dungeons and others to the Hospital Wing. After a few minutes, everything was normal except for the empty Slytherin table. Sirius walked in with a devious smile on his face, but it fell when he saw the horrid normality of the scene. He walked glumly over to the table.

"What happened? I expected to see a horrendous picture when I walked in. People were screaming about neon hair and pudding heads??" I laughed.

"It seems that someone pulled a nasty prank on the Slytherins." I caught James' and Remus' eyes with my own. However subtle I was, Sirius still saw through it.

"You went Marauding without me?"



"Not Marauding… just pranking," I said. "You see, we needed to cheer Remus up after the whole possessing thing…" It was a little white lie, for being possessed wasn't the only thing that had been bothering Remus.

"Oh… okay. Sorry I couldn't help… I was kind of… tied up, shall we say?"

"Yes, we know. With Jeanne," Remus confirmed. Sirius nodded and scratched the back of his head nervously before sitting down next to Jeanne.

"Wait, _you_ did this?" Peter asked. All three of us nodded simultaneously.

"Wow! That's SOOO cool!" I smiled.

"Thanks, Wormtail, ol' buddy," James said. That made Peter absolutely shine with pride. I patted James shoulder and shared a conspiratorial wink with Remus when no one was looking. Messing with the Slytherins wasn't the only thing we had done…

**I know it's a little short- okay, a LOT short- but it's an update and I have creative liscense to plan this out. It also just might possibly have to do with the fact that I don't want to see this story end so quickly as I thought it would. But either way I hope you liked it and I hope you'll review, as well…**


	32. Troublemaking DoGooders

**Another new chapter!! Okay guys and gals, enjoy!**

We headed on our way to Transfiguration after the whole mess in the Great Hall. Unfortunately, or rather, fortunately, whichever way you want to look at it, we shared the class with the Slytherins. The Marauders and I hung around until a group of Slytherins, hair wet from washing off pudding, came around and entered the room. They looked in and immediately stepped in and started screaming. Once the door had opened, a previous set up spell triggered a sudden flood and descent of metallic colored balloons…. filled with syrup. I started to laugh, but quickly suppressed it once I spotted Professor McGonagall coming down the hall. She heard the screaming and immediately sped her steps. She stopped dead in her tracks in front of the door. She said nothing, but pressed her lips together, waved her wand to clear the balloons and syrup around the room.

"Get to your common room and clean off again," she said strictly. The Slytherin gratefully obeyed for once. The professor turned on her heel.

"I expected better from the Head Boy, Potter. Ten points from Gryffindor. And another ten for your involvement, Black." Sirius, who had been openly laughing, stopped in shock.

"But-"

"Detention, the two of you."

"Please, Professor," I spoke up. "It wasn't Sirius' fault. James and I planned this."

"Mr. Black, you can have your ten points back. I'm disappointed in you, Ms. Evans. Fifteen points from Gryffindor not only for these pranks, but also because you are Head Girl and should exhibit responsibility. You'll get a detention as well. And I think a visit to the Headmaster is in order. I don't care if you're part of the Order; you are still my students and will show respect here at Hogwarts." I nodded.



"Yes, Professor."

"Now get inside, another five points will be deducted for each one of you late. You'll get a notice of your detention by owl at some point today." We nodded and entered the classroom, sitting down solemnly. Suddenly, I remembered that we would need to dismantle the rest of our pranks. I scribbled a note to James as more students followed in.

What about the other ones?

He looked at it for a second before responding.

**Oh, right... After this class, during free period. Meet me by Moaning Myrtle's.**

**And give this to Moony**

I passed it up to Moony just as the last of the students trickled in and class began. He turned and nodded. I paid attention to the lesson and nothing else, not wanting to lose even more points. However, I still held a sense of foreboding because the rest of our pranks needed to be taken care of…

I saw James round the corner as he and Moony approached the entrance to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"Okay," he whispered. "Let's get down to business. Lily: you go take the animation and _vociferous _charms off the suits of armor. They'll be detected first." He was right, talking suits of armor with their sounds enhanced to twenty times their normal level were sure to be noticed first.

"Moony: you and I will start tearing down the Boisterous Bubblewrap and Screeching Strips in the Common Rooms and Prefect Lounge. With people in class, we should be able to get done fairly quickly without anyone noticing or setting them off. You got it Lils?" I nodded.



"Let's get going," I said. We headed off in opposite directions. After an hour, I had traipsed up and down the whole school, deactivating the charms on the suits of armor. My feet hurt and I was a bit breathless from running around to get to all the sets with time left over. I had fifteen minutes to find James and Remus before our next class started. And lucky me, it was Potions and all the way down in the Dungeons. I was, of course, on one of the top floors. I stood and sighed, making my way down the moving stair cases, trying not to get lost or end up in the wrong place. Once I reached the first floor and came upon the Entrance Hall, James and Remus tumbled out from behind a tapestry.

"Hey guys. How did your adventure go?" They grinned.

"We scared a bunch of Slytherin girls with syrup in their hair," Remus said.

"Strangely, it didn't give a different effect from their gel at all…" James remarked. I laughed.

"Let's get to class." James groaned, but followed Remus and I, rolling our eyes, anyway.

Halfway through potions, two Hogwarts owls thumped against the door and started to squawk. I caught James eye with a grim expression on my face. Professor Slughorn looked flabbergasted.

"What the devil-?" He wobbled over to the door and opened it, getting a face full of feathers. Sirius sniggered, then he seemed to remember why two owls would be bursting into the classroom. He cast a worried look over at James and I. James just shrugged, used to strange things happening after he got caught. I smiled, trying to be reassuring. McGonagall was right: even though we were in the Order, we didn't have the right to cause chaos in the school. Although, since we were dealing with the Headmaster and not her… We might get off easier, 

since Dumbledore knew why Remus had been upset and that we conspired with him to make him feel better.

"Mr. Potter and Ms. Evans?"

"Yes Professor?"

"You might want to take care of those owls." I looked around. The owls had landed atop our desk. I removed my scroll from the owl in front of me and patted her head affectionately before she took off for the Owlery once more. James acted similarly. We read the notes quickly before putting them away so we could continue our lesson. Slughorn looked quizzically at us before shrugging and waddling back to the front of the class to scrawl something else on the board. I sighed and took to my notes once more. James and I were to meet Dumbledore this evening at eight thirty.

At the end of class, Remus came up to us and apologized.

"I should have gotten one, too."

"Don't worry about it, Remus. We did this for you. It was to make you feel better, not worse for getting a detention."

"But this prank wasn't what made me feel better. I got over it a while ago."

"But Mate, you've gotta admit it took your mind off things and you had fun planning it and seeing it in action."

"Yeah…"

"So let's get to lunch and not worry about it." Remus grinned.

"All right." When we entered the Great Hall, McGonagall pursed her lips and started talking to the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I could only imagine that she was spreading her disdain amongst the other teachers.



"Oh… ignore her, Lily." Sirius said. I smiled at him as we took our seats. Jeanne came in a few minutes later from the greenhouses, followed by Alice and Frank. Jackie came in next from her free period. My feeling of dread and impending punishment was all but forgotten during the next forty five minutes. I sighed happily after lunch.

"Well, I guess I can assume _you're_ feeling better." James nudged me playfully. I grinned.

"Yeah, but I'm still a bit worried."

"Oh, come on. Dumbledore won't do anything that bad. Plus it's not like anyone got hurt."

"I guess you're right…"

"Then calm down and don't worry. It'll be fine."

"Okay…"

"That's my girl." He hugged me and started to walk me to class.

"Why are you coming along? You've got to be clear on the other side of the castle in two minutes."  
"I've got my passages and tunnels, Love." I shook my head.

"You shouldn't chance it."

"Well, I am this once. And we're almost there, anyway." I kissed him on the cheek before entering the classroom.

"See you later." I turned to open the door.

"Lily, wait."

"What?"

"Do you love me?"

**Oooh! Another cliffy! I hope this makes up for the shortness of the last chapter, despite the hundredth cliffhanger. I haven't really looked over it, so if you find any grammatical or spelling errors, do tell. Please review! :D**


	33. Life Lessons

**Here's the next chapter and the answer to James' question! Hope you like it.**

"Do you love me?" James asked. I was somewhat confused as to why he asked the question.

"Of course I love you, Silly." I smiled.

"Honestly?"

"Yes, honestly."

"Why do you love me?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Well, I can guess, but I want to be sure." He grinned playfully.

"I love you James Potter. I love you because you bring out the best and the worst in me, but you also make me think about how I feel."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. And one night when I was plagued with such thoughts, I came to a conclusion. You are part of my soul and the key to my heart. There, happy?"

"Very much so." He leaned down and kissed me.

"It's your turn later."

"Of course it is. Although you shouldn't need any reassurances. Six years I've been chasing after you."

"How could I forget? Now get along. You don't want to be late. Gryffindor's lost enough points today."

"Worrywart!" He called.

"So what if I am?" He laughed.

"Get to your class, too, Lils."



"I am, I am." With that, we went our separate ways, only to meet again in another hour or so.

Arithmancy let out a few minutes early, so I was waiting outside the Divination room when James was leaving.

"So, James. Do _you_ love _me_?"

"Yes."

"Oh, so I give you a sodding monologue and I get one syllable?"

"Your monologue was not sodding. It was wonderful. And if you were patient, you would already know that there is much, much more to that 'yes'."

"Well, go on then."

"Lily Evans, I love you with all my heart and every molecule in my being. All my passion, devotion, and care goes to you. It goes to you because you are intelligent, clever, loyal, confident, beautiful, and prefect in every way. And although you have a temper, your witty sense of humor makes up for it along with all of your other virtues."

"Aww, Honey, that was beautiful." I ginned as I stood on tiptoes to kiss him.

"Just like you."

"You get more for that." And I kissed him again.

"That's what I was aiming for."

"Naughty, conniving little boy."

"Yep, that pretty much sums it up." I grinned again.

"Let's get to lunch before we starve."

"Ah, I had forgotten how famished I was. You had thoroughly distracted me."



"That's what I do best."

"Yes, it definitely is." He leant down and kissed me as we waited for the stairs to shift before descending once more.

We arrived at the Great Hall with grumbling stomachs.

"We were wondering when you'd get here," Sirius stated.

"Well, we were coming from Divination, Padfoot."

"Then you need to walk faster." He stated, sticking his tongue out. I laughed.

"Are we going to talk or are we going to eat? Because I am _starving_." Murmurs of agreement echoed through the group.

We headed to Dumbeldore's office for our lesson in a few days.

"Welcome, children. The first and most important lesson you will learning is occlumency."

"Occlumency?" James asked.

"I've read about it, but I don't know much," Remus replied.

"It is the art of concealing your thoughts and feelings. This is exceptionally important as Death Eaters will use you to get information about the Order. To achieve full protection of your thoughts, you must clear your mind and force the intruder away and out of your mind. Who would like to try first?" Remus stepped forward confidently.

"Very well, Mr. Lupin." Dumbledore pointed his wand at Remus' forehead and a faint stream of blue light connected the two. Remus opened his eyes wide and staggered back. His brow furrowed as he concentrated, then his face became a mask of stone. Dumbledore lowered his wand.



"Very good, Mr. Lupin. Excellent. Next? Miss Evans, perhaps?" I nodded and stepped forward after casting a nervous look at Remus. He nodded and I let Dumbledore know I was ready. The Headmaster did the same thing with me as he did Remus and a memory of the night Snape and I snuck out immediately swam into the front of my mind. I frowned. Why would he be looking at that? But I quickly remembered what I was supposed to be doing. I closed my eyes and let the darkness envelop my mind, shutting everything out.

"A slightly different approach from Mr. Lupin, but effective nonetheless. Well done. Mr. Potter?"

"Yes, Sir." He took his place in front of Dumbledore, hands shaking slightly. He must have been thinking of something he didn't want Dumbledore to see. The blue light emerged from the wand and made contact with James' forehead. James staggered back and fell on his knees at Dumbledore's feet. I took an involuntary step forward, hand outstretched. James started crying and covered his face with his hands.

"No, no, no, no, no," he murmured over and over again. Dumbledore stopped his attack on James' mind and sighed at James' crumpled form on the floor. It was then that I went over to him.

"It was a good try, James. Perhaps next time," Dumbledore said softly. James shook his head and buried his face in my lap. I stroked his hair gently until he was ready to stand and walk to the Head Tower.

"I think we'll call it a night, Professor," I said. I helped James up and hugged him. "Let's go. Goodnight, Professor." Remus followed us out solemnly. I waved as he headed down the hall and up to Gryffindor Tower. I helped James up to his room, where he attempted to hide from me for the rest of the night.



"James, you can't shut me out forever. I don't want to know what you remembered, I want to know if you're all right and if there's anything I can do." I said from the door.

"No."

"No you're not all right or no there's nothing I can do? Open this door." He did so, and I walked in and sat next to him on the bed.

"No one can help. I'm worthless. I can't control my emotions. I can't be in the Order, Voldemort will find everything out."

"He will not. Because you'll practice and get better under Dumbledore's supervision. You can ask for individual lessons if you don't want anyone to see."

"No, I want you there next time."

"Then I'll come." He hugged me.

"I saw Death Eaters raiding Godric's Hollow and murdering my little sister." I hugged him tighter and patted his back.

"I'm so sorry."

"They did it to torture me and my parents. They wanted me to join them. What use was I as a student?" He buried his face in my shoulder again.

"You're a very talented wizard. But you're also kind and you know what's right and wrong. You would never join them, I know that. And I know you won't give them any advantage. Because you're going to train and protect yourself and many innocent people."

"You sound so confident."

"I _am_ confident. James, you've gotten this far and you're still determined, I know it."

"But I don't know Occlumency. I can't keep them out. They'll learn everything. You can do it. Remus can do it. You'll be successful in the Order"



"Hey. Successful in the Order or no, I still need you there. And I've got you."

"You don't need me. I can't do anything."

"Yes you can. And we'll work together to hone your skills."

"What skills?"

"Stop this. You are an exceptional wizard and with Dumbeldore's lessons, you'll get even better. We all will. And we'll fight Voldemort together and lead great lives." James kissed me and nodded.

"Thanks."

"You are very welcome. Now get a good night's sleep." I left him with one last hug. I took my own advice and prepared for bed. With lessons from Dumbledore underway and James' confidence renewed, I was certain that the rest of the year, the rest of my life, and my time in the Order would fulfill my dreams. The only thing I needed to do to get there was to pass my NEWTS. Well, I would cross that bridge when I got there, wouldn't I?

**Okay, this is the last chapter. Don't get all depressed, though, because depending on what you say, I might include an epilogue. Also, I will start a new story straightaway. Keep an eye out for it. Sorry I can't tell you what it's going to be called, I don't even know.**


	34. TheNotVeryLongAwaitedEPILOGUE

**Okay, here's the epilogue you all asked for… I kinda just pulled it out of the air, so be prepared for some randomness. Though, that makes it more fun… so never mind me. I'll let you get on with the reading!**

James and I gazed up at the sunset after a long year outside our new house in Godric's Hollow. Our NEWTS had gone well, though we didn't know our scores.

"I love you, Lils," James said out of the blue.

"I love you too, James." I leant over and kissed him.

"I have something to ask you."

"Then ask." I smiled. He kissed my cheek.

"Will you marry me?" I looked straight into his eyes, still overcome by their depth and strength.

"Yes." I whispered. At that moment, brilliant orange sparks flew through the sky, accompanied by a loud sound rather like fireworks.

"I'm sorry, Lils, what?"

"Yes, you silly man. Why would I say no?"

"Well, you've said no before."

"Before I fell for you, you mean. Now, I don't know about you, but I believe those sparks are meant for us. Let's get going to the Leaky Cauldron."

"I had forgotten it was a Wednesday," James mused. "But we don't have to go until 11:36, Dumbledore said."

"Well, I guess we both forgot some things."

"Indeed we did. That reminds me, what did you say about marriage?" He grinned.

"Oh, you joker."



"Jester, Joker, whatever you'd like."

"Fool."

"Ouch. That hurt."

"I'm sure it did. Hey, Remus and Sirius and Peter would all have seen orange sparks too. Why don't we go meet them somewhere?"

"It's only six, they could come for dinner."

"Oh, more cooking than usual. This should be fun."

"You're already turning into a wife."

"If you ask me, we've been acting like husband and wife since we bought this house."

"A good point."

"Yes, it is. Now come on and owl them."  
"What then?"

"You can help cook."

"Oh… Do I have to?"

"Yes." I picked up my purse and my wand. "I'm off to get groceries. I'll be back in a few."

"Didn't you buy enough this morning?"

"Not enough for a party."

"Then get going, woman!" I laughed and kissed him on the cheek before Disapparating.

When I had come back from grocery shopping, Sirius was already there.

"Oh, hello, Sirius."

"Lily," he nodded. "James just told me the good news."



"Did he now? Did he tell you that since you're here early, you get to help cook too?" Sirius frowned.

"I wasn't expecting that…" I laughed.

"Well, now you've recovered from the shock, get over here. Wash and chop these vegetables." Sirius looked at me as though I had gone mad.

"Vegetables? Lily, you're acting like a mother."

"Haven't I always with you two?" Sirius grinned.

"Oh yeah…"

"Well, don't just stand there, get to work." He pulled some broccoli and carrots out of the brown paper bags and ran them under water.

"Why isn't Prongs helping with the work?"

"He will be." The doorbell rang. "And so will Remus." James walked out of the bathroom and went to open the door.

"How did you know it was him?" I shrugged.

"Peter's always late." Sirius laughed.

"Hello, Moony ol' buddy," James greeted him.

"You look better than you did at school after the full moon," Sirius said. Remus grinned.

"There's this new potion they're developing. They asked me to give it a test run. Works like a charm."

"I'm glad to hear it," James and Sirius said together. I shook my head.

"Get on in here and help if you want supper." The young men all groaned, but filed in as directed.

"What do you think we're going to talk about at the meeting?" Sirius asked.



"We've all read the papers, Voldemort's started attacking. They probably want our help and everyone else's," Remus said.

"Well, right now, the evening's a happy affair. Let's get this food cooked so we can reminisce," I said. At that, they all launched into telling stories of various pranks they pulled and things that happened at the wild parties after a Quidditch victory. Soon, I was swept up in the memories as well, content in the moment. Well, until Sirius sliced his finger when he wasn't watching the knife. I laughed and scolded him.

"What are we going to do with you?"

"I dunno. But I don't think I can help with dinner any more…" I laughed and waved my wand, staving off the blood flow.

"You won't get off that easy. Besides we're almost finished. You can set the table."

He groaned.

"That's even worse than making the food."

"Well, you said you didn't feel up to cooking." The bell rang again. "And you've Peter to help you know." With a wave of my wand, the door opened and Peter stepped in.

"Now that we're all here….Let's PARTY!" Sirius said. We all laughed and hurried the dinner preparations so we could do just that.

**Well? How was it? And although I got a request for a sequel, there won't be, because I think this pretty much sums everything up. Feel free to review, and to find out about my next story, the Author Alert it always helpful… hehehe :D Hope you liked it!**


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